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Salt Ijake (Ttiarnber 0f CGfiimerce. 



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SALT LAKE 





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PREPARED AND PUBLISHED P.Y THE 



SALT ,L1KE CHIMEEE OF COMMEBCE. 



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Soil Lah.e, A. D. 1888. 





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COPYRIGHTED )888, BY M. J FORMAN, 
Salt take City, Utah. 



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Preface;, 



THE following sketch of the resources and attractions of Salt 
Lake City has been prepared and published by the Chamber of 
Commerce, an association organized April, 1887, and consisting 
• of two hundred and fifty of the representative citizens and business 
men of Salt Lake. The publication is intended for the diffusion of 
correct information concerning Salt Lake City among the citizens of 
the East, few of whom have a correct understanding of the extraor- 
dinary material advantages enjoyed by Utah Territory, which deserves 
to rank amongst the greatest Commonwealths of the Union. The 
statements made may be relied upon as correct in every particular, as 
the thousands will vouch for who have visited the Chamber during the 
past twelve months and there seen and examined the evidences of won- 
derful wealth extracted from Utah's soil. Nothing is needed to insure 
-a prosperous future to Salt Lake but to make known to the outside 
world the extraordinary opportunities here afforded for the employ- 
ment of Capital and Labor. There is no department of industrial life 
which does not contain special inducements for the investment of 
Capital and the exercise of intelligence, with promises of remuneration 
not found elsewhere. No one who has examined the possibilities, or 
who has enjoyed the natural amenities of life in Salt Lake City, has 
ever been disappointed. 

M. J. FORHAN. 

Secretary, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. 




i ■' 



.-^^ ^ 







' ' Oh, Christ ! it is a goodly sight to see 

What Heaven hath done for this delicious land." 



WHEN Brigham Young, accompanied by his band of followers, 
emerged from Emigration Canon ni the year 1847 to gaze in 
bewilderment on the indescribable and unequalled loveliness 
of Salt Lake Valley, bordered by the grandeur of the mountains which 
bound the horizon on every side, he must have felt, if he did not utter, 
the sentiment expressed by Byron. Truly, there is no scene on earth 
that equals this! The silent, snow-capped mountains inspire a solemn 
awe which is tempered by the exhilaration produced by the glorious 
sunshine and the feeling of tranquil peace arising from the contem- 
plation of the lovely, fertile valley. The great Salt Lake, from the bosom 
of which spring several mountain islands, borrows from the sunshine a 
sheen that dazzles and blinds, and the whole panorama is animated by 
the presence of a city which, in manifold charms and attractions, has no 
equal on the American continent. No stranger ever visited Salt Lake 
City who did not consciously or unconsciously paraphrase Byron's ex- 
quisite tines. There is no city in the L'nion which inspires so much con- 
tentment and delight. In its natural aspects it is unrivalled, and, by 
universal accord, from the recognized appropriateness of the comparison 
as well as by reason of the parallels existing between the Jewish 
and Mormon religions, it has been aptly denominated the " Promised 
Land." In this vast country— so vast that at the capital Wisconsin and 
Illinois are ranked among the Western States, whereas in Utah and 

(5) 




O 



(6) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 7 

Montana Kansas is spoken of as the East — so much ignorance pre- 
vails concernmg locahty that the extraordinary advantages enjoyed by 
Utah Territory, and by Salt Lake City in particular, are little under- 
stood. And, in addition to the difificulty of obtaining correct informa- 
tion arising from distance, the exaggeration engendered by the active 
rivalry and competition between communities of late years creates a 
distrust and incredulity which prevent a consideration of the most 
truthful statement. 

At the outset it can be truthfully said that there can be no exagge- 
ration concerning the natural resources and attractions of Salt Lake 
City. Nature has been more lavish of her blessings to Utah than to 
any other State or Territory in the Union. This is a strong statement 
to make, but the sequel will prove its correctness. That the reader, 
however, may peruse the following pages without prejudice or sus- 
picion, the testimony borne by strangers is herewith submitted: 

Governor Fletcher, of St. Louis, a lawyer of eminent ability, and a 
gentleman of sound judgment and extensive experience, writing to the 
Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, says, among other things: " It 
has long been to me a matter of surprise that a real, hearty, good 
' boom ' has not been inaugurated at Salt Lake. There is not a place 
on the continent where all the surroundings are so favorable to making 
a city of a half million of people. Salt Lake Valley is the most invit- 
ing region of America, and it only wants to be properly advertised to 
start a tide of immigration that will make it the richest valley of the 
United States." 

The editor of the Evening Leader, of Wilkesbarre, Pa., commenting 
in the leading editorial of August 23, 1887, upon some printed state- 
ments in reference to Salt Lake, says: "Unlike many such docu- 
ments, It deals in no flights of fancy, but conforms itself strictly to 
facts, as the writer of this, who has looked upon the marvelous beauties 
of Salt Lake and its surroundings, can attest. It is certain that the 
climate is nowhere in this country so delightful. In summer the mean 
temperature is 74'^, but the dry atmosphere reduces this several degrees. 
There are more sunshiny days in Salt Lake than in any other city in 
the Union, while the nights are always cool. The beach of America's 
great Dead Sea furnishes bathing facilities that excel not only those of 
the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and all other famous places of the Old 
World, but also those of the ocean resorts of this country. Salt Lake 
is a picture of loveliness, with splendid opportunities for creating the 
most attractive homes in the country." 




(8) 



KESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 9 

The editor of the Prcss-Biillctin, IMuinesota, says: "Salt Lake City 
is showing her progressiveness by a general invitation to all to come 
and invest their capital and energy there without respect to faith. It 
is tired of posing as a ' Mormon curio-shop,' and the invitation will 
doubtless be accepted by many, as Salt Lake City possesses advantages 
which mark it as the future city of the Western-Central United States." 

I'he editor of the /wrrr^, Connecticut, says: " Uta,h's peculiar 
institution has been so prominently before the country as a bone of 
contention as to put the attractions of its lands, its climate, and its 
mines quite into the shade. It has not been generally known that it 
offers greater natural resources to settlers than most of the other great 
divisions of the western half of this great Republic. The climate is 
delightful, its mountains are rich in mineral resources, and its valleys 
are unexcelled for agricultural purposes." 

The Oregon State Journal says : "We have no hesitation in saying 
that Salt Lake City is situated in one of the most lovely spots we have 
ever seen on the face of the earth. The high, snow-capped mountains 
towering above the city and the valley make the scenery very similar 
to our own Willamette Valley, or to the Sacramento Valley in Califor- 
nia; but the altitude is so much greater that the atmosphere is lighter, 
and there is a feeling of buoyancy and health such as is not felt in the 
low countries. Salt Lake is a gem among the great central mountain 
chain of America. Its climate and scenerj^ are unsurpassed for health 
and beauty on the face of the earth. These attractions, and the pro- 
ductiveness of the soil, will no doubt make it the home of a numerous 
and prosperous population." 

The editor of the Merchants' Rcvien', New York City, says : — " It 
may surprise our readers to hear that the mines of Utah have yielded 
up to date over $100,000,000 worth of ores, and this without remark- 
able exertion. With its delightful climate, fertile soil, and ample water 
supply, there is little doubt that an abundance of capital will soon flow 
into the Territorv, and that there will be shortly seen an era of pros- 
perity founded upon natural resources second to no state in the 
Union." 

Another editor remarks : — " We have often wondered why eastern 
capitalists have not taken interest in the development of the resources 
of Utah. The natural advantages of the Territory are great, abounding 
in mineral wealth, great fertility of soil, and with a climate unsurpassed 
in the world. Lands are cheap, the valleys rich in productiveness, and 
water for irncration abundant. The inhabitants have finer orchards 




(10) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 



11 



and a greater variety of fruit and vegetables than is produced in 
Southern California, the land of the 'Boom '." 

F. r>. Browncll, a well known car manufacturer, says : — " The 
writer had the pleasure of a short visit to your city in February last, 
and feels the truth of the statements made as to the advantages offered 
by your Territory to investors and immigrants, and he would not hesi- 
tate to recommend it to any friends who wish to go West." 

To the foregoing might be added the testimony of a score of the 
most prominent journals, including the New York J For Id and Aform'ng 
Journal; the Springfield, Mass., Republican; the Cleveland Plain 
Dealer; the Wilmington Every Evening; the Troy, Ala., Messenger; the 
Elkhorn, ^^'is., 1 ndependent ; the Black Diamond, Chicago; the Review 
and Examiner, Washington; the Record, Seymour, Conn.; the Mer- 
chants' Guide, Philadelphia, and many others equally influential and 
reliable. 

The editors of these journals are disinterested strangers and bear 
testimony gratuitously to the advantages enjoyed by Salt Lake. There 
is a maxim which says that no one falsifies gratuitously — '■'■ Nemo gratis 
mendax." 




(12) 




SALFIT LAP^B GITY. 

THE whole world has heard of Salt Lake City. In the remotest 
corners of the Old World its existence is, perhaps, better known 
than that of the metropolitan cities of the East. Notwithstand- 
ing its world-wide reputation, however, its charms, attractions, and 
advantages are little known or understood even by the inhabitants of 
neighboring states and territories. The reasons for this are obvious. 
Of all the states and territories which compose the Far West, Utah 
Territory, of which Salt Lake is the capital, ranks first in the history of 
colonization. Its settlement dates back to 1847, prior to the gold 
excitement of California; but the religious views of the pioneers who 
settled it differed so essentially from those of other religious bodies 
that they repealed rather than attracted the many home-seekers who 
have traveled westward during the last forty years and by their toil and 
intelligence added hundreds of ijiillions to the wealth of the nation. 
Prior to the year 187 1 the original settlers virtually lived apart from 
their other American neighbors. There was little or no commingling, 
and while there was no restraint and no interference with personal 
liberty, the facility with which land could be obtained elsewhere, 
coupled with the prejudices then and now entertained against polygamy, 
led emigrants and others to seek a social atmosphere better suited to 
their personal requirements and more in accordance with their 
individual convictions. 

A great many questions will suggest themselves to the reader m 
connection with Utah and other western points which can be more 
easily explained and answered by bearing in mind that the West in 
general has progressed more rapidly during the last ten years than 
during the thirty years previous, and to this fact is due more than to 
aught else the apparent indifference and lack of interest in the wonder- 

(13) 




(14) 



KESUURCES or UTAH AND SAl/i" LAK.1-: CllV. 15 

ful advantages enjoyed by Salt Lake City. The origmal pioneers were 
unmolested for nearly a cjuarter of a century, during which time they 
grew and prospered and became formidable to the outside world 
because of their peculiar religious institutions, which bound them 
together as a unit and segregated them from strangers in religion, 
politics, business, and social life. With the discovery of mineral wealth, 
however, the situation changed, and for twenty years the gulches and 
canons and hill-sides have been attracting the gold-hunter, until 
to-day there are several mining camps peopled by a majority of 
Gentiles. The policy of the Mormon Church at its inception, as well as 
at the present time, was the establishment of an agricultural community, 
and hence mining was discountenanced. So cardinal a maxim of the 
Mormon creed is the tilling of the soil that mining has been in a 
measure tabooed, and hence the mines of Utah are owned and 
controlled principally by Gentiles, this principle being so far-reaching 
in its effect that few if any Mormons who identified themselves with 
mining have persevered in their allegiance to the Church until the last 
few years. To mining the first influx of Gentiles in any number is 
principally, if not solely, due, and with the development of this industry 
the Gentile population has increased until at the present date the 
community of Salt Lake differs but little from any other in its social, 
business, or religious aspects, except in so far as it possesses in addiiion 
to all other religious elements which exist elsewhere one which differs 
from all others. The community is homogeneous and united both in 
purpose and in action. The influence of the progress and develop- 
ment of the last ten years has been to educate the people in regard to 
the disadvantages of their position when divided among themselves 
upon the issues by which the prosperity of the community is to be 
measured. Whatever differences prevail at present concerning other 
matters, there is little or none in regard to the advisability and necessity 
for diffusing information concerning our extraordinary resources, and 
inviting the home-seeker and capitalist to avail themselves of the rare 
opportunities here afforded. For the first time in the history of Utah 
the business men in the principal communities have agreed upon the 
necessity of inviting capital and population from other points and of 
entering the lists as competitors with the progressive cities of the \Vest, 
which, though more pretentious in their claims, can never compare 
with Salt Lake City in the natural wealth of its resources and attrac- 
tions. That Salt Lake has been overlooked is easily understood and 
explained. Tourists and strangers have visited the city and have been 




(W) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. )7 

SO absorbed in the investigation of its religious and social features that 
Its dehghtful cHmate, its wealth and variety of mineral, its fertility and 
productiveness of soil, its manifold and unequalled attractions, its lakes 
and mineral springs, its charming drives and avenues, its lovely homes, 
and all the other blessings which make it the loveliest and most delight- 
ful spot in America, have been little considered. As a matter of fact, 
persons have come and gone, having gratified their curiosity concerning 
the institutions of Mormonism, and, surprised after their departure to 
learn that Salt Lake City enjoyed rare advantages that might appeal to 
self-interest, again returned with a view to examine into its material 
resources. The question of religion has overshadowed every other 
consideration, and as a result the ignorance prevailing in regard to the 
advantages we possess is co-extensive with the prejudice that exists 
concernmg the character of the community. No little astonishment 
will result, therefore, from the discovery that in our social life we do not 
differ from any community of the East, and that Utah can compare 
favorably with any state or territory of the Union in the wealth of its 
natural resources and attractions. 

The population of Salt Lake is estimated at 35,000. The city is 
situated at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, which are a part of 
the great continental range dividing the Far West from the plains 
which stretch eastward from the Rockies to the Missouri River. The 
finest residence portion of the city occupies the mountain bench or 
plateau, once the shores of a great inland sea, from which in ages past 
the waters receded till they settled in the basin of the Great Salt Lake, 
distant about eighteen miles from the water-marks now seen above the 
city. Utah is a succession of valleys varying in extent, but each suffi- 
ciently large to support a population greater than that of the whole 
territory at the present time. The principal valleys in the North are 
Cache, Salt Lake, and Utah, which are not only the best watered but 
the most thickly settled and best cultivated. The City of Salt Lake 
derives its name from the body of water after which the valley is 
called wherem it lies. This inland sea, which covers a surface area of 
2,500 square, miles, lies directly west of the city, extending north and 
south nearly a hundred miles. From its bosom rise several mountain- 
ous islands, some of which are used for ranches and orchards, and sea 
and islands are in full view from the bench land of the city, than 
which there is no more beautiful residence site in the world. 




(18J 




^^ 



^OPOG^^APHY. 

TOPOGRAPHICALLY, Salt Lake is so situated as to be the 
natural centre of supply for six or eight states and territories. 
To the north lie Idaho, Montana, and Southeastern Oregon; 
to the west, Nevada and Southern California ; and to the south, Utah 
and Arizona, while Salt Lake merchants are to-daj competing with 
Denver rivals in the eastern and southwestern districts of Colorado. 
The variety and abundance of raw material to be found in L'tah 
establish, beyond perad venture, the claim of Salt Lake City as a natural 
supply centre for the localities mentioned. In passing, it may be 
said that while Southern California is to-day drawing its supply of 
coal from Australia and other distant points, there are coal veins in 
Iron County, Utah, loo feet in thickness, sufficient to supply all 
California for generations. In addition to coal, there are deposits of 
iron that centuries of consumption could not exhaust, and a variety 
of other minerals adapted for manufactures. Within the borders of 
Utah are to be found deposits so curious in their character that the 
uses to which many of them may be converted are yet unknown. 
Among other materials may be mentioned gilsonite, a carbonaceous 
deposit found nowhere else in the United States, and a most valuable 
substance. Then there are gypsum, as white and pure as can be found 
anywhere, alum, saltpetre, gas shale, borax, sulphur in vast quantities, 
sulphate of soda, black graphite, mica, natural wax — a commodity 
imported from Europe at a great cost and a perfect substitute for 
beeswax. From this wax candles can be manufactured supenor to the 
finest stearine candles. There are red and yellow ochres for the man- 
ufacture of fire-proof paints, rock salt, marbles and stone in infinite 
variety for building or decorative work, and a number of things to 
which special reference will be made elsewhere. 




(80) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AXU SALT LAKE CITY. 21 

With this vast and varied supply of raw miiterial, is there any room 
to doubt that Salt Lake City will in time become a great manufacturing 
center for the localities mentioned ? It is already the capital and 
metropolis of Utah and the centre of all travel to and from the Pacific 
coast. It enjoys a chmate unequalled m America, and a water-supply 
sufficient, if properly utilized, to set thousands of wheels in motion. 
There is no other point in the West which can be singled out as a 
present or prospective rival of Salt Lake City. For manufactures of 
any kind there is no point in America so well supplied with raw mate- 
rials. In Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, and Nevada there are 
many valuable gold, silver, and lead mines, and some coal and iron; but 
in Utah these are all to be found, and, in addition, the variety of min- 
eral and chemical substances previously mentioned, many of which, 
though far inferior in quality, are imported from Europe and sold m 
the cities of the East for manufacturing and chemical purposes. It 
has only been within the past year that there has been any great incentive 
to "prospecting" for more than precious metals in Utah, but the dis- 
coveries made in that time have placed the Territory ahead of any 
state or territory in the West. Treasures of gold and silver have been 
uncovered the e.xtent of which is little known elsewhere; but Utah soil 
conceals more than the precious metals, many of the substances being 
still more valuable, mica and natural wax, for instance, being sold by 
the pound and not by the ton, like gold and silver-bearing ores. 

With the superabundance of natural resources in the sha^e of raw 
materials for manufacturing purposes to draw from. Salt Lake City has 
no fear of any rival. It is true that two factors essential to success 
are still missing — Capital and Population; but the history of the West 
during the past ten years gives assurance of a large growth of popu- 
lation in the near future^ and with an increase of population may be 
expected an increase of wealth. 

In a recent number of the North American Review Charles Dudley 
Warner, while descanting on the merits of Minnesota and Wisconsin, 
which had appeared so remote from the little world of the East 
m which he had always lived, and with which his ideas of culture and 
greatness were exclusively associated, remarked that to him, even to 
him, the great country west of the Mississippi had been nothing more 
than a geographical cipher. The changes that a quarter of a century 
has brought about have escaped even this scholarly gentleman, and 
he was surprised to find the " \\'ild West " possess such centres 
of elegance, wealth and refinement as Milwaukee, St. Paul, and 




(22) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 23 

Minneapolis. But he might have traveled a few thousand miles further 
and been yet more surprised at the changes which have been wrought 
during the last ten years in the Far West. In this connection the fol- 
lowing from the Salt Lake correspondence of an eastf^rn journal may 
be worthy of attention: "Wonderful changes are wrought in a few 
years, yet the possibility and even the certainty of such changes taking 
place are frequently disregarded. Twenty years have not elapsed since 
the first railroad crossed the Mississippi at St. Louis, and in that time 
what changes have been wrought throughout the ^Vest! Chicago has 
increased in population 150 per cent., and in wealth, industry, and com- 
mercial traffic has grown to be one of the greatest marts of the world; 
St. Louis, with its slow growth and conservative methods, has added 
50 per cent, to its population. Kansas City and Omaha have grown 
from small villages to grand metropolitan cities. Denver has become 
one of the beauty spots of America. The plains of Kansas and Texas 
have been covered with prosperous communities; the slopes of Cali- 
fornia have been peopled with the possessors of wealth and refinement 
garnered in the East; and the territories, some of which have been 
acquired by the nation in that time, have been so rapidly settled that 
many of them to-day are presenting their claims for federation with 
the Union as independent states. What fortunes have been made and 
lost while such changes were taking place! How many millionaires 
have appeared in that time! And it is not necessary to be a prophet 
to predict that the end has not yet come. The opportunities to-day 
are as great as they were twenty years ago. There is plenty of virgin 
soil upon our plains and valleys, and the treasures of our mountains 
have not been all uncovered. As the populations grow thicker their 
wants increase, and the greater is the demand for energy and intelli- 
gence. Young men are apt to be indifferent to these considerations; 
they are absorbed in the present and do not stop to think of the fleet- 
ness of time and the important changes which a few years may bring. 
" I have said that it is less than twenty years since a railroad was 
built across the Mississippi. I might supplement this by saying that 
all the great changes that have been wrought between the Mississippi 
and the Pacific have occurred within ten years. W^here were the 
Kansas City, the Omaha, the Denver of the present, ten years ago ? 
And Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jos(5, Portland, and the many pros- 
perous cities of the Pacific Coast, five years ago ? It is only necessary 
to reflect a few minutes on these changes to realize the possibilities 
which are in store for our inter-mountain region." 




(^4) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 25 

There is much food for thought in the growth of the West for the 
past ten years. Has the tide of immigration ceased to flow ? With 
all the territories asking for statehood because of their possession of 
the necessary qualifications, is it reasonable to suppose that the 
changes in the next five years will not be more marked and significant 
than in the last ten? Are all the great trunk lines of railroad stayed 
at the eastern base of the Rockies ? or do they intend to reach out for 
a share of the enormous passenger and freight traffic of which one or 
two roads have now a monopoly between the Mountains and the 
Pacific Ocean ? Salt Lake City is the only point between Denver and 
San Francisco towards which the intervening territory looks as a 
supply centre. Is it going to maintain this supremacy, or what rival is 
likely to arise ? A rival is simply impossible, not only because of its 
situation, which shuts out all competition from the North and South, 
but especially for the reason that there is no locality in the West so 
thoroughly and perfectly equipped with everything that enters into the 
manufacture of marketable supplies. 





(26) 



SOCIAL lilPB. 

SOME very strange as well as absurd and erroneous views are 
entertained by people throughout the East in reference to the 
character of Salt Lake citizens. Forgetting that there is no 
folly too great for a philosopher to defend, they expect to find " Mor- 
mons " a peculiar and distinctly different people in appearance and 
manner from oth^r American citizens. How very prevalent this view 
is may be learned from the curious enquiries of strangers visiting Salt 
Lake. In Denver, a few weeks since, the writer met and conversed 
with a prominent physician, a University graduate, who in the course 
of conversation remarked : " I know it is very absurd, but there is 
something which leads me to expect to find some physical difference 
between Mormons and other persons. Almost instinctively one looks 
for some peculiar characteristics that would distinguish them from all 
others." If men of intelligence entertain such views, what may be 
expected of those whose ignorance is exaggerated by prejudice? 

It is very commonly supposed that Salt Lake City is peopled but by 
one class of citizens, and hence, because of existing prejudices, that 
the social and civic life of the community is not marked by the culture, 
religious sentiment, and refinement of other communities. The follow- 
ing newspaper correspondence, prepared by the Secretary of the Cham- 
ber of Commerce, will show the absurdity of such views : 

" For a long time Salt Lake has been generally regarded as the scene of incessant 
wrangling and social strife — as a hot-bed of lawlessness and turbulent dissension. The 
opinion that the lives and Hberties of individualsare unsafe here is not yet an uncommon 
one, and this opinion is not confined to the ignorant or inexperienced. Within a few weeks 
I have heard the statement made in public by a, gentleman of intelligence and extensive 
business experience, that notwithstanding his great curiosity to visit our city he had 

(27) 



28 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

gone on to the Pacific Coast by way of Ogden, fearing maltreatment in Salt Lake. 
The views and fears of this gentleman are still entertained by multitudes in the East. 
There are many who look on the citizens of our city and Territor\' as a bastard branch 
ol the human family whose strange ideas and uncouth customs unfit them for afTiliation 
with civilized communities. How absurd and unjust are these notions is well under- 
stood by those who have visited us. There is no community of its size in America 
that can boast of greater peace than Salt Lake, no people amongst whom a greater 
love ot order prevails. The offenders against our municipal regulations are few — fewer 
by far than in much smaller communities, notwithstanding the numerous mining camps 
by which we are surrounded on every side, and from which we daily receive many 
visitors. There are no thieves or burglars amongst us ; the sand-bag and the slung- 
shot are unheard of ; se'dom, if ever, is a citizen who pretends to respectability seen 
staggering through the streets under the intluence of liquor. We have no daughters of 
shame whose practices are sanctioned by the law under the guise of a periodical fine ; 
there are no harlots in our jails or workhouses to bear evidence of the libertinism or 
debauchery of any class of our citizens. Industry and honesty are characteristic of our 
people, and God is worshipped in accordance with the free dictates of each one's con- 
science. The Catholic, the Presbyterian, the Baptist, the Methodist, the Episcopalian, 
the Reorganized, and the Mormon churches have all their separate temples, and all are 
well attended. The Catholics alone have a bishop and si.\ priests, and yet not too 
many to attend to the spiritual wants of their people. And it is not a proof of our lack 
of civilized refinement that our city is considered the best of its size in America for the 
patronage of theatricals and other stage entertainments. For music our fame has 
reached to the far East, and some of our talent has been lured away long distances for 
the delectation of communities the surroundings of which lend less inspiration to genius. 
In the arts even cultured Boston must pay homage to a child of Utah whose genius as 
a sculptor has elicited their applause. In painting we have several of unpretentious 
talents whose works would add beauty to the studios and galleries of any American 
city. In the refinement of home and social life no stranger has ever found us wanting, 
nor is any greater proof needed of our education in this respect than the natural loveli- 
ness of our city, embowered during the summer season in foliage and flowers. 

" The absurdity of the opinions entertained concerning us is evidenced by the 
surprise of every stranger who visits us. They find courtesy and kindness where they 
expected to find rudeness and hostility, and discover with astonishment that refinement 
and intelligence are not incompatible with the profession or practice of orthodo.x or 
heterodox religion. 

" Strange opinions are entertained in the East in regard to the people of the West, 
but these opinions are still more strangely deformed in regard to the people of Utah. 
Horace Greeley's injunction to go West has been interpreted for the most part in such a 
manner that young men of immature minds and limited experience have grown to 
imagine that the West is strangely in need of their intelligent services; that, like Topsy, 
the people here have 'growed,' and have not been trained under the influences of the 
honie, the school, and the church. The surprise of these people on visiting the cities 
of the West is only proportioned to their previous ignorance of our condition, and 
many is the youth whose hopes of becoming a Congressman or Senator from the West, 
or administering the laws with dignity from the bench for the government and enlight- 
enment of a benighted people, have been blasted only by a visit to our mountain homes. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 29 

" Salt Lake, though one of the most favored spots by nature in America, and though 
populated by a class of citizens whose business ability, intelligence, and refinement 
easily make them the peers of even enlightened New Englanders, has heretofore labored 
under serious disadvantages. The beauties and attractions of our city have been hidden 
under clouds of prejudice and distrust. The outside world seemed more interested in 
us because of our opinions on religion and politics than because of our material 
resources or of the extraordinary advantages we possess. 

" There are those East whose prejudices and distorted imagination clothe our citizens 
in costumes different from the garb of American citizens elsewhere, and people our 
beautiful cities and valleys with ruffians and desperadoes. What wonder, then, that 
we have been ignored — that cities metropolitan in character and appearance have 
sprung up around us, the most favored of which did not possess a tithe of our natural 
advantages? Our American communities are not built from within, We have plenty 
of unbroken soil in Utah, and vast resources that can become available only through 
outside capital. Our inhabitants are for the most part pioneers, being indebted for 
their possessions to their own energy and intelligence. Their original business has 
grown, but remains the same in character, and with increasing cares they are forced to 
let others enter upon the newer fields of investment which are being opened. 

" Communities are not unlike individuals in their conceits. There are some business 
men and men occupying local positions who proudly imagine that their fame has spread 
far and wide, and that they need no trumpet to make known to the world their talents 
and resources. It does not occur to them in their self-esteem that a hundred miles from 
the scene of their operations others may be more famous than they. The world we 
live in is not so big but it conceals a great many unknown quantities, and Salt Lake, with 
its vast resources and unlimited attractions, may be numbered amongst them. We 
want people to know us as we are, and not as they suppose us to be ; and when we 
become so known surprise and admiration will succeed to the indifference with which 
we have been considered in the past. From every side now comes the announcement 
that the ouside world is growing interested in Salt Lake. I only hope that this interest 
will bring us citizens who will find more than town lots in which to speculate. Our 
people do not need, or desire, a real estate ' Boom.' What they need is the develop- 
ment of the vast resources hidden in our mountains. And how proud we can feel at 
being able to say that the resources and attractions of our Territory are unequalled m 
abundance and variety in any State of the Union! Our mountains have not been 
much prospected, but the immigration to the West has become an incentive under 
which new discoveries are being constantly made. Everyone is surprised at the show- 
ing which Utah can already make — a showing which, in our incipient development, can 
not be excelled by any of our neighboring states or territories." 




(30) 




CLIMATE OP SALT LAP^B 6ITY. 

OF Utah's climate, let the following report of Doctors Hamilton 
and Standart, on behalf of the Committee on Climatic and 
Sanitary Affairs of the Chamber of Commerce, bear 'evi- 
dence. If any guaranty of its correctness were needed other than 
the facts and iigures presented, it is to be found in the reputation 
enjoyed by the gentlemen who prepared it among their professional 
brethren throughout the United States. 

" That we have in Utah, or more particularly in the ' Great Salt 
Lake Basin,' a climate peculiarly local and of a ciuality conducive to 
good health and long life is a well-established fact. 

" We possess those qualities of climate evolved in dryness, eleva- 
tion, and tonicity of the air which contribute so much to the common 
good of a community at large and as well to the restoration of the 
invalid in search of such benign influences. Further, those qualities 
of climate so essential to the comfort and restoration of the mvalid 
exert as well a beneficial and indeed a moderating influence over 
diseases in general peculiar to mankind. 

" Now, conceding the fact that our inherent qualities of climate 
redound to the general good, we will proceed to cite wherein these 
inherent qualities as evolved in elevation, dryness, tonicity of the 
air, etc., apply to the benefit and prolongation of the life of the 
invalid. In speaking of the invalid in the general sense, we mean 
more particularly the consumptive ; and of all diseases consumption 
cuts the widest swath in the 'mowing down' of the human family; 
or, as Dr. James Henry Bennett puts it in speaking of pulmonary 
consumption, it is ' simply a mode of dying.' 

(31) 



32 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

" When we reflect upon the seriousness of this statement, and 
recognize the stern fact that the mortuary tables of the world charge 
over one-eighth of the deaths to this disease, we can indeed say 
'a mode of dying ! ' — a slow death commencing in the lungs. 

" Taken collectively, all forms and degrees of phthisis are most likely 
to be arrested in dry and comparatively cool climates. The tabulated 
evidence thus far formulated is decidedly against moist climates; in 
fact, the addition of damp only makes warmth tell the more unfavor- 
ably. The question arises, What is the percentage of humidity in the 
atmosphere of the ' Great Salt Lake Basin ?' 

" Before answering this question it would be well to cite the fact that 
it is not always the countries or seasons of least rainfalls that have the 
driest atmospheres. To illustrate — the percentage of humidity at Salt 
Lake City is 67 in winter and 45 in the spring, yet the rainfall of spring 
is twice that of winter. What is of interest to know is whether the 
atmosphere is habitually dry or moist, and that is not always shown by 
the 'quantity of precipitation. The great bulk of our population is 
situated in valleys not exceeding 4,500 feet elevation, and these valleys 
are protected by the close pro.ximity of mountain ranges. 

" In these valleys the ^atmosphere is dry, elastic, transparent, and 
possessed of wonderful tonicity, and the temperature compares favor- 
ably in respect of equability with Colorado and the territories north 
and south of Utah. 

" A record of the readings of the thermometer was kept at Camp 
Douglas, three miles east and 500 feet above the city, from 1863 to the 
establishment of a signal station here, in all, covering twenty-four 
years. From these records it appears that the extreme yearly range 
has been less than 90'^ oftener than it has been 100^ or more. At 
Montreal the annual range is 140'', New York City 114", St. Louis 
133°, Chicago 132*, at Denver, Colorado, 126°, while at Salt Lake 
City, Utah, ;/ has exceeded 100" Init three times in twenty-four years; and 
excluding the past year, or rather January of the present, descended 
below zero only thirteen times in the same number of years. 

" The average high extreme for these years was about 97^^'^, the 
average low extreme 4° above zero, making the average annual range 

"The average humidity in Salt Lake City for the year — and here we 
answer the question above propounded in this article — is 43 per cent, 
of saturation. At Denver it is 46, at I'hiladelphia 73. In the spring, 
summer, and autumn it is 37, while in summer it is but 28.5**. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 33 

" From these figures we believe the conclusion can be drawn that we 
possess, right here in the Great Salt Lake Basin, a ' mean ' of tempera- 
ture which cannot be approached by other and at present time more 
favored localities — ' favored ' in the popular sense. 

" There is hardly a day but what our atmosphere is tempered by sun- 
shine; it is free from mist and fog, it possesses the combined properties 
of purity and rarity and the further stimulus to breathe it engendered 
in elevation. It might be added, the Great Salt Lake Basin enjoys 
immunity from high winds and severe electric storms ; the cycfones 
peculiar to some of our western states and territories are not known in 
Utah. The total march of the winds over Salt Lake City does not 
exceed 50,000 miles in a year. It is more than 100,000 miles at Phila- 
delphia, and in excess of 150,000 miles on the open ocean. 

" A place or locality to be a sanitarium in the curative sense should 
possess an exhilarating atmosphere; it is what the consumptive craves 
and thrives upon; indeed, his system seems to cry out for ' more air.' 
The property of exhilaration born of purity and rarity of atmosphere is 
an ever constant factor. We find an increase in the force of the cir- 
culation, stimulation of the respiratory sense with increase in the 
normal oxidation of the blood, together with general improvement in 
the body-nutrition. 

"The climate of a mountainous country like Utah will vary consid- 
erably with its varying altitudes and exposures; hence the invalid can 
elect a climate in kind and degree which seems best adapted to his 
condition. He will bear in mind the fact that moisture decreases with 
progressive rarefaction and, consequently, elevation; further, that heat 
lessens the number of respirations per minute, also their depth; hence 
the degree of lung expansion is proportionately diminished. Contra, 
he will note that he breathes more times per minute as he attains alti- 
tude, that he breathes deeper and expands his air cells relatively greater, 
and thus supplies more oxygen to his tissues. Practically, he uses his 
lungs more at an elevation of 4000-6000 feet than at sea level, where 
atmospheric conditions do not supply the necessary stimulus. Thus 
the invalid, from the very nature of his surroundings, is made to take 
his medicine and to take it in a most agreeable way: his heart quickens' 
with elevation, and hence there is an increased supply of oxygen 
through the agency of the blood to the lungs, the brain, etc., all of 
which means an improvement in the body-nutrition. 

" Upon this basis of reasoning we can make the plain statement, and 
it cannot be controverted, that we as individuals and as a people — 




(84^ 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 35 

subject to the manifold blessings so lavishly bestowed upon the section 
where we live and have our being — can work harder and accomplish 
more with less ' wear and tear ' in Utah than anywhere else in the inhab- 
itable globe. With a fair endowment of brains as working capital, we 
can think fa.ster; with brawny arms backed by inherent energy, we can 
expend more force with less fatigue, and render at sun-down a day and 
a quarter for a day's work without unusual effort. \\'e can eat and 
assimilate more and sleep better in Utah than the average man else- 
where ; in brief, while we cannot exactly subsist and live upon ' rarefied 
air and hope,' we do claim that under the stimulus of local conditions 
of climate, etc., we can return — other things being equal — in thought 
and force more and better work than the average of mankind in less 
fortunately endowed localities. 

"The fact must not be inferred that, in endorsing the climate of Utah 
and its inherent virtues and benefits, we have nothing but climate. Far 
from it! We have the richest producing mines of the world; indeed, 
since minerals have been discovered in the mountains of Utah we have 
turned out over 100,000,000 of dollars in bullion. 

" We have a vast acreage for stock, for agriculture, etc., and an 
abundance of water rushing down our mountain sides and through 
deep canons, much of it now running to waste for want of utilization. 

"We live in nature's sanitarium; we are subjected to heahthful influ- 
ences; we dwell under a cloudless sky. In the localization of the most 
favorable climatic properties — dryness, coolness, and diathermancy of the 
atmosphere, we find the 'Ideal Climate.' In the elucidation of these 
views we owe much to the wide experience and original researches of 
Doctor Charles Denison, of Colorado, than whom there is no better 
authority on meteorology as applied to climato-therepy in its practical 
bearing upon diseases of the respiratory organs. 

" Our ' Ideal Climate ' is made comprehensive in its influence through 
the varied topography of this inter-mountain region. The cool fresh 
air of the mountains, light and pure; the peculiarly local atmosphere 
of the Great Salt Lake, 'maritime ' in quality; together with the shel- 
tered situation, the distance inland, and the elevation above sea level — 
all of these conditions have combined to give us what some travelers 
have imagined they have found here, 'the most unique and wonderful 
climate on the face of the globe.' While not especially adopting this 
verdict as ours, we do not object to it, but leave the facts developed 
by the meteorological record as herein presented to speak for themselves. 




City Hall. 



County Jail. 



(36) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 37 

" We have in the proximity of ' The Great Salt Lake,' occupying as 
it does 2,500 square miles of the Basin, a ' moderator ' of extremes of 
heat and cold. It spares us through atmospheric conditions peculiarly 
local an inordinately high degree of humidity necessarily belonging to 
'maritime' climates proper ; further, we are spared in a measure the 
extremes of heat and cold so characteristic of some sections of Arizona, 
New Mexico, and Colorado. We are still further protected by the close 
proximity of the mountains to the north and east. 

" It is a physiological truth that the human organism cannot stand 
great extremes of heat and cold without damage — assuming of course 
that such conditions of the atmosphere are long continued and constant. 
A high degree of heat tlirows a physiological strain upon the liver, the 
digestive system, the skin, the brain, etc., which strain may be consid- 
ered abnormal. Contra, intense cold throws a physiological strain upon 
the lungs. 

'' Phthisis does not originate here, and where the monthly fluctuation 
of the thermometer does not exceed 50", and the mean monthly tem- 
perature is at or within limits above 50'^', and the humidity is under 50 
per cent., a residence is beneficial to consumptives if commenced early 
enough. 

'' The beneficial influence of Utah air on asthma is very decided ; it 
cannot exist except in a relieved and modified condition. Rheumatic 
fevers are scattered over the months without reference to season; but 
very few cases become chronic. 

" The intermittents are 'imported,' and the tendency is to longer 
periods and ultimate recovery. 

"A remittent form of fever called 'mountain fever ' is indigenous. 
It usually yields readily to treatment. The effect of our local climate 
upon diseases in general is modifying. The summer heat is not debil- 
itating; the dry pure air and the cool invigorating nights enable.patients 
to withstand the shock of surgical operations that could not often be 
safely attempted in humid climes. Indeed, we as a people — a com- 
munity at- large — can retire to refreshing sleep to waken with renewed 
life and energy, to begin another day prepared for the grand struggle 
for subsistence. The people of Utah — to the manor born — are as 
robust and long-lived as any in the world. No city that we are aware 
of excels Salt Lake City in the matter of natural advantages for the 
physical well-being of its citizens. From ocean to ocean no city that 
we are aware of has been dealt with more kindly by nature. We have 
a great inland sea rolling at our feet possessing inherent virtues in its 




(38) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 39 

waters essentially tonic and invigorating to the general system. We 
have thermal springs in the suburbs of varying degrees of temperature 
and of varied properties. We have the sunshine peculiar to a dry cli- 
mate, and we thrive upon it. It is an old Dutch proverb that 'paint 
costs nothing,' such are its preserving qualities in damp climates. Well, 
sunshine as it comes to us through a clear, pure atmosphere, and from 
a cloudless sky, costs less and is of finer pigment; it reflects cheerful- 
ness and makes the world smile, and those so fortunate as to be sub- 
jected to its benign influences well and happy! \\'hat more could 
nature do for us ? " 

Strong and forcible as is the foregoing testimonial, the following 
from the St. Louis Globc-Dcmocrat of Sept. 9, 1887, is the best com- 
mentary on Utah's climate that could be submitted: 

Salt Lake City, September i, 1887. — Among the curiosities of Mormondom 
are its old people It is an absolute pleasure to look upon them. Dozens of men in 
their eighties may be seen on the streets every day. Hale and hearty old fellows they 
are, with gray beards and broad shoulders, and they do not appear to be over fifty. 
Some of them are Mormon bishops; nearly all are elders, and not a few are polyga- 
mists. Look at the late John Taylor, who was four-score, and he had seven wives. 
Examine the records of the Utah Penitentiary, and there will be found many men in 
the sixties who served, or are now serving, six months' terms for unlawful cohabitation. 
The apostle Lorenzo Snow, who is in his seventy seventh year, was in the "pen" for 
nine months, and might have been there longer had not the United States Supreme 
Court come to his relief and helped him out. In the Tabernacle on Sunday afternoon 
hundreds of white heads and faces, sanctified by age, greet the eyes, and there seems 
to be a great deal of truth in what Eliza R. Snow said to me the other day when refer- 
ence was made to her great age: " We Mormons believe it is our duty to live past 
seventy." " Miss" Snow is eighty-three, but as quickwitted and as active on her feet 
as many a woman of less than sixty. She throws off a poem occasionally, and writes 
a book whenever the notion takes her. But, as I have already written about " Miss " 
Snow in a previous letter, I will pass her by with this mention. Many of the under- 
grounders who have been evading the officers of the law for several years past are 
•either octogenarians or far advanced septuagenarians. They are every bit as spry as 
the younger fellows in keeping out of the way of the authorities. Most of these old 
folks belong to the pioneer days, and came to Salt Lake Valley when there was noth- 
ing here but sage brush and alkali plains. Some of them have footed it six or seven 
times across what was then the Great American Desert to the Missouri River, and I 
believe that if there was a revelation announced to-night calling on all the seventy and 
eighty-year-olds in Utah to mount shank's mare and start for Omaha in the old prim- 
itive way, there would not be a solitary saint or sinner among them who would plead 
age or hesitate about going. The majority have been, and still are, in a sense, agricul- 
turists. They have found Ponce de Leon's fountain of youth in the scent of the clover 
fields and the breaths of snow that blow from the Wasatch Mountains. They have 
led temperate, frugal lives, and the sap and strength of the soil have grown into their 
structures and systems. It would do anybody good to look at them. And Utah is 



40 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITV. 

proud of them I so proud that she gives them the very best care and awards them the 
same generous attention that petted children always receive. 

There are many pretty ideas in the Mormon system of religion, and one of the 
prettiest, I think, is the glorious meed of admiration for which the old folks come in. 
In addition to the care and attention bestowed upon them in the way of providing for 
their regular wants, one day in each year is set apart for them, and it is called " Old 
Folks' Day." The late Edward Hunter, who was the presiding bishop of the Mormon 
Church from 1850 to 1S83, and who himself died in the latter year at the advanced age 
of ninety, conceived the plan of giving every man and woman over seventy years of 
age in the neighborhood of Salt Lake City a day's outing each year. He instituted 
Old Folks' Day in 1875, and it has been a success ever since. The idea has been 
adopted in other parts of the Territory, and lately some enthusiasts have done some 
vigorous writing in behalf of establishing a national old folks' day, when the cities of 
the nation can trot out their seventy-year-olds and lei them have a little fun. Here 
they have their recreation every 22d of June, which was Bishop Hunter's birthday. 
The last time they went to Ogden and spent six or seven hours in its public park, with 
music, dancing, refreshments, and all the concomitants of a picnic added to the railroad 
ride which they got. There were about 750 of the excursionists over seventy years of 
age, and these 750 went from Salt Lake City and its immediate vicinity. Just think of 
it — 750 out of 30,000 people were upwards of seventy years old' One in every forty of 
the population had reached the three-score-and-ten limit spoken of in the Scriptures. 
If sixty-year-olds had been accepted the whole Denver & Rio Grande rolling s-tock 
could scarcely have accommodated the multitude. I suppose that about one in every 
twenty is over sixty. As far as humanity is concerned there seem to be only babies 
and gray-heads in Utah. Certainly there is a plenitude of both Those who were 
seventy years old and under eighty wore red rosettes on their left breasts; those over 
eighty and under ninety wore blue rosettes, and all over ninety had white rosettes. 
Any person over 100 years was entitled to wear a golden star, which the committee 
having charge of the arrangements for the festival day would furnish. There was no 
centenarian this year, though. Last year Mary Bishop and Father Wilding wore the 
gold badge. The former was feeble in her lower limbs, but retained full possession of 
her faculties. Savage photographed her when she was one hundred years and fifteen 
days old, and that photo is reproduced by the Globe-Democmt. Father Wilding lived 
to be 102. He walked down town every week to be shaved, and could get around on 
his feet in quite a lively manner. Both died during the past twelve months. 

At Ogden several local old people joined the throng. There were two or three 
couples over ninety from the junction city. Only thirty or forty of the octogenarians 
were so feeble that they had to be assisted, and only two were blind. Fifty young 
folks had been provided with tickets, and were supposed to look after the feeble. A 
few weak and fading old gents had to be carried into and out of the cars, but the 
rule was that the older the subject the greater was his or her ambition to appear as 
youthful as the youngest in the party. They promenaded the park, listened to the 
music, danced, ate cake and drank wine, and received new vigor and freshness from 
the day's sport. Several hundred dollars' worth of presents were distributed, and 
James Burgon, of Union Fort, at the south end of Salt Lake City, took the prize 
for being the oldest person present. He is ninety-six. and expects to live ten or 
twenty years longer. The presents always consist of silk handkerchiefs, walking 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 



41 



sticks, rocking chairs, blankets, and articles of this desciiption, together with money. 
Mr. Burgon received the finest pair of blankets ever woven in Utah. Everybody over 
eighty gets a walking stick, and the old ladies have the days of their bellehood recalled 
by gifts of handsome dress patterns. The committee having charge of the last enter- 
tainment, which is free to black and white, Jew, Moslem, or Gentile, were Presiding 
Bishop Wm. B. Preston, and Messrs. George Goddard, C. R. Savage, Wm. Eddington, 
Wm. Naylor, Wm L. Binder, John Kirkman, Andrew Jenson, and Nelson Empey, all 
prominent people in the Mormon Church. In their prospectus is the following para- 
graph, which explains the liberal character of the affair, and suggests the manner in 
which the presents and means for the excursion are obtained ■ 

This movement draws no lines nor asks questions as to belief ; it simply seeks 
to make those happy who are generally forgotten when the time for festivity comes. 
Those who desire to aid the movement can hand in their contributions to any member 
of the committee." 

The following list of persons over eighty years of age 1 copied from the reports 
made by the bishops of the different wards, who were requested to send in to John 
Kirkman' at the tithing office the names of all the seventy and eighty-year-olds who 
attended the excursion : 



Henry Dowman 86 

E. R. S. Smith 83 

Wm. Tucker ( as spry as a boy) 85 

Marie Godbold 84 

Phoebe Hicks 82 

Mrs. Rogers 80 

J. B. Lewis. ... 90 

Mrs. Whitney 80 

Mr. and Mrs. John Lyon 85 and 80 

Mrs. Ringwood ( goes out washing). . .85 

Sarah H . Free 87 

Wm. Paul ( is at work every day ) 84 

Samuel Turnbow 83 

Lucy Davis 82 

Susanna Hygham 81 

Mrs. Dr. Sprague 86 

Mother Taylor 86 

Zinah Williams 90 

Mrs. Wright 86 

Corbett Daniel 80 

Elizabeth Hunting 85 

Mary Henderson 82 

John Evans 80 

Thomas Condy. 81 

Catharine Maddocks So 

John Achom 84 

Sarah Holt So 

Sarah Thompson 82 

Wm. Anderson 88 



Jas. Albian Si 

W. H. Hickenlooper 82 

Thomas Court 83 

Esther Twiggs 87 

Elizabeth Pugmire(was in one of the 

pioneer companies of 1847 ) S4 

Elizabeth Thomas 84 

John Gray 84 

Christian Lindstrom 82 

Archibald Scroggie So 

Agnes Scroggie 80 

Charles Cowley 82 

Maria Arthur 80 

Ann Battee 82 

Mr. Hines 97 

Christian Muir 81 

E. Luddington 81 

Gertrude J\L Armonsen, South Cotton- 
wood 86 

Amy L. Jensen, South Cottonwood. . .87 
Frederick Neilson, South Cottonwood. 82 
Richard Arnold, South Cottonwood. . .82 

Fannie Pierce 84 

Sarah Thomas, Centreville 89 

Charlotta Mills, Centreville 89 

Elizabeth B. Walker, Farmington 84 

Mary Wilson . S3 

Ann Beer 81 

Marv Ann Clift 82 



42 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 



John Hudspoth 67 

Wm. J. Moss 81 

Maria Morris Si 

Alex. McRae 80 

Mrs. Broolis So 

Harriet Phelps So 

Hannah Miller 80 

Charles Cowley 80 

Dinah Jones, colored 83 

Ellen Greenwall Si 

John Chapman S3 

Eveline Fisher 83 

Ann C. Richards 85 

E. S. Hills 82 

S. Hills Si 

Joseph Brown 86 

Ann Brown S7 

Chas. D. Barnum 86 

Henry Norman (danced a jig for his 

brethren ) 85 

Evan Williams 70 

John P. Parry 80 

Sophia Williams 82 

Herbert Van Dam 89 

\Vm. Jenkinson, blind 82 

Joseph SericI 80 

Elizabeth G. Burton 82 



Mercy R. Thompson So 

Elizabeth Cripps 86 

Susanna Taylor 84 

James Buryon, Union 96 

Mary Pale, Union 83 

Andrew Danielson, Big Cottonwood. . .83 
Hannah Jacobson, Big Cottonwood. . .80 

Mary Titcomb, Mill Creek So 

Thomas Green, Mill Creek So 

Margaret Green, Mill Creek So 

John Davis 82 

Anna Daniels 80 

Jane Cornwall, Sugar House 85 

Hannah Bailey, Sugar House. ... . 88 

Wm. Capance, Centreville 81 

Sophronia Adams, Centreville 81 

John Ford, Centreville * So 

Thomas Meek, Kaysville 80 

Edward Crockett, Kaysville 83 

Wm. Irons, Kaysville 86 

Jos. Hill, Kaysville 85 

Wm. Barrel, Buttervillc 86 

Neils Poulson, Butterville 82 

Daniel Wood West Bountiful 86 

Mary Ford, South Bountiful 83 

J. E. Perry, Draper Si 

S. Neilson, Draper. . . 82 



Besides these are probably 100 more individuals in this vicinity who are over eighty- 
five years of age. Miss Tafts, who is eighty-six, is not mentioned; neither is Miss 
Sarah Whitney, who is eighty-five, and still speaks three languages, plays the piano, and 
retains others of her girlish accomplishments. There are many too feeble to get out 
who did not participate in the Ogden Excursion. Then, too, there are large numbers 
in exceedingly good circumstances who do not mingle with the common herd of octo- 
genarians. Some of the ablest Mormons are in the eighties. There is Judge Elias 
Smith, born in 1804, who would still be on the bench if the Edmunds Polygamy Act 
had not disfranchised him and made him ineligible to hold office. He was appointed 
Lhief Justice of Salt Lake County by Brigham Young when the State of Deseret was 
formed, and he held that position until 1882. A chief justiceship in this connection 
amounts to about the same thing as county judgeship. In the Deseret scheme of gov- 
ernment every county had a chief justice, who sat with two associate justices. Judge 
Smith is now eighty-three, but he hobbles around, and can draw up a brief or make an 
argument as well to-day as the brightest young member of the bar. Erastus 
Snow, one of the twelve Apostles, is in his seventieth year, and has been under- 
ground (or some time. He had a narrow escape from the Deputy Marshals in Febru- 
ary last, of which I shall write later. Henry Grow, in his seventy-first year, is serving 
a six-months' term in the Penitentiary for unlawful cohabitation. 1 Ic has several wives. 
Joseph C. Kingsbury, of the tithing office, is in his eighty-first year. And so I might 



RESOURCES OE UTAH AND SALT LAKE CUrY. 



43 



goon enumerating and naming these old codgers; but it would make a list almost as 
large as a city directory, so I will stop, and merely say that polygamy, tithe-paying, and 
revelation seem to be conducive to longevity, at least in Salt Lake Valley. I must men- 
tion, however, that one of the greatest business men of the community, Horace D. Eld- 
ridge, who is at the head of the " Co-Op. ," as the Z. C. M. I. is called, which does a 
business of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 a year, is seventy-one, and Wilfred Woodruff, 
President of the Twelve Apostles, who, if precedent is followed, will be chosen as 
John Taylor's successor to the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, is eighty-one. 






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rl^ti!,,, 



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(44) 




UTAH'S MINEI^AIi I^ESOUI^GES. 

OF the mines and mining of Utah Httle more need be said than 
what is contained in the following synopsis of the Report of 
the Committee on INIines, Mining and Smelting of the Salt Lake 
Chamber of Commerce: 

Thus far the mining industries have been the chief source of revenue 
to TJtah. Many of our most valuable mineral deposits, however, are 
yet undeveloped and comparatively unknown outside our borders. 
Intelligent examination of our mountains has revealed that, apart from 
the deposits of precious metals which have made the Territory rich, 
they are wonderful storehouses wherein nature has accumulated vast 
treasures of almost every mmeral useful in the sciences, manufactures, 
and arts. 

In Spanish Fork Canon, close to the railroad track, there are 
various veins of alum, the largest of which is eighteen inches thick and 
extends several hundred feet longitudinally. It is of dazzling white- 
ness and singularly pure. The scarcity of alum of such purity, and its 
resemblance to cryolite, which is the cheapest material for the manu- 
facture of aluminium, makes it of great value, and is a guarantee of the 
early development of this mine. 

At various points throughout the Territory are found beds of nitre 
sufficiently pure to fuse briskly when thrown upon hot coals. In close 
proximity to the vast coal-fields, of which more later, there have been 
discovered enormous deposits of ozokerite, or natural mineral wax, 
which is found nowhere else in appreciable quantities, and which is 
destined to revolutionize more than one manufacture. It is air, acid, 
and water proof, and can be used for imparting these qualities to any 
fabric or material. As an insulator it is perfect, and will undoubtedly 

(45) 



46 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

supersede all other insulating substances in the manufacture of electric 
appliances. It is also eminently adapted for forming a cheap and per- 
fect paving material, for indurating piles and posts as a preventative 
against rot, and for innumerable other commercial purposes. A some- 
what similar product is gilsonite, which on analysis is shown to contain 
over 78 per cent, of pure carbon, and consequently to be almost abso- 
lutely pure asphalt. Unless similar discoveries are made elsewhere, a 
supposition we have no reasons for entertaining, it will remain a 
perfectly unique substance, the nearest approach to it containing not 
more than 28 per cent, carbon at the most. It can be put to the same 
uses as the last-named mineral, in addition to others for which its great 
purity specially adapts it, and as there is in sight a vein of three feet 
in width and over 5,000 feet in length the supply is well-nigh inexhaust- 
ible. 

The coal-measures of Utah are of enormous extent, and are all 
bituminous and of good quality. The bulk of the coal comes from the 
Pleasant Valley and Weber County districts, which in 1886 produced 
upwards of 180,000 tons, valued at $1,000,000 laid down to the consumer. 

It is only natural that near these great coal-measures should be 
found traces of petroleum, and accordingly there are evidences that a 
considerable volume of oil exists which only needs to be intelligently 
sought to yield its wealth. Arrangements have now been made for the 
development of these oil fields. 

A singular deposit has been opened up in eastern Utah, about seven 
miles southeast of Cisco, on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail- 
way. Boulders of magnificent water-agate as large as five feet in dia- 
meter are to be obtained without flaws and of beautiful hues. Among 
these immense gems are portions of carnelian, one specimen of which is 
five inches across. This extraordinary discovery has naturally excited no 
small degree of interest, and thousands of acres have been taken up under 
the Placer Act, while plans have been formed for the establishment of 
works to polish and adapt the stones to furnishing and other purposes. 

The Great Salt Lake is a limitless magazine of salt, which can be 
obtained in any desired quantity by the simple process of evapora- 
tion. By improved methods the article can be produced from 97 to 
99 per cent, pure, which is enough for all purposes. In addition to 
this, we have immense quantities of rock salt, which is mined chiefly in 
San Pete and Sevier Valleys. From the lake are also procured vast 
quantities of sulphate of soda, which at certain temperatures the winds 
blow to the shore, where hundreds of tons are sometimes piled up in a 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 47 

single night. This substance can be utilized in the production of soda- 
ash, sal-soda, carbonate of soda, etc. 

Carbonate of soda also exists as an efflorescence on the soil in 
various spots in the vicinity of Salt Lake City. 

A vein of copperas, which is doubtless the precursor of further 
discoveries, has been found in Spanish Fork Canon, and is from six to 
eight inches thick. 

One of Utah's most extensive and useful treasures is building stone. 
Variegated and plain marbles in great profusion, limestones, fine 
granites, sandstones, and magnesium limestones are found along the 
line of the railroad in inexhaustible quantities, and can be worked and 
freighted at a very low cost. The red sandstone, or "brownstone," 
from Thistle and other points along the line of the Denver & Rio 
Grande Western Railway is of equal or superior quality to any in the 
country, and large quarries have been opened and expensive machinery 
purchased for the proper working of this superb material, which is 
already shipped to the East in large quantities and excites universal 
admiration wherever introduced. 

Roofing slate of unsurpassed quality and of various colors, gray, 
green, and purple, is procured from Antelope Island, in the lake, and 
also from the caiions near Provo, and promises to form the basis of 
an important industry. 

Sulphur exists in enormous beds in various portions of the Terri- 
tory, ranging from 40 per cent, to a state of almost absolute purity. 

PRECIOUS METALS. 

The first attempt at mining for the precious metals began about 25 
years ago, but, owing to want of railroad facilities, very little was done 
until 187 1. Since that time the development of the industry has been 
phenomenal, in view of the difficulties in the way and the lack of capital 
which has caused so many owners to depend entirely upon their output 
for the means of increasing it. From 1871 to 1887 the total output of 
the Utah mines was as follows: 

Gold, 148,316 fine ozs., at $20.67 $ 3,065,692.70 

Silver, 65,226,753 fine ozs., coml. value 73,201,966.50 

Lead, 689,630,705 lbs., coml. value 33i799.599 20 

Copper, 19,044,995 lbs , coml. value . .'. 3,003,889.20 

Total $113,071,146.60 

If the silver were computed at its coinage value the amount would 
be increased to $123,999,848.98. 




Views in Park City. Mines and Milij 
(4fc) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AM) SALT LAKE CITY. 49 

DISTRIBUTION OF MINING DISTRICTS. 

The mines worked at the present time are principally in Beaver, 
Juab, Summit, Salt Lake, Tooele, and Washington Counties. I'hrough- 
out the Territory mineral indications are present wherever there are 
mountains which assure success to the capitalist in search of profitable 
investments. Rich ores are known to exist in the hills of Western 
Utah, but mining in that section necessarily awaits the construction of 
railroads. Mines are found on both flanks of the Oquirrh Range from 
the lake southward nearly a hundred miles, as at Stockton, Dry Cafion, 
Ophir, Bingham, and Tintic, which are all connected with the capital by 
rail. 

BEAVER COUNTY. 

This county contains five parallel ranges running north and south, 
and all of them rich in minerals. A single chimney of ore at the base 
of Grampian Mountain turned out loo tons of ore per day for four years, 
realizing over $13,000,000 worth of metal, of which $4,000,000 was paid 
in dividends. The output of the county for the past year was 5,369 
tons only, which indicates that mining in Beaver County is at present 
carried on by men of small means who are waiting for fresh capital to 
be introduced to develop their mines. The Horn Silver Mine does not 
belong to the general category of Beaver County mines. It is a bonanza 
of rare merit. 

The facilities for mining in Beaver County are excellent. The 
country is dry in the summer, with sufficient water, wood, and timber 
for mining purposes, and operations are not obstructed by snow or cold 
in winter. The muies are usually easy of access, provisions and sup- 
plies are cheap and abundant, and good labor is obtainable at fair 
wages. There is no doubt that the introduction of capital and intelli- 
gent operation would vastly increase the output in this district. 

JUAB COUNTY. 

Tintic is the principal mining camp in this county. The ore ship- 
ments of the past year exceeded 32,000 tons, in addition to 900 tons 
treated by a chloridizing mill withm "the county. All this comes mainly 
from four mines, about 2,000 tons being contributed by a score of small 
mines which need capital for their further development. Besides this, 
the Tintic Iron Co. shipped during the year about ro,ooo tons of iron 
for fluxing purposes to the smelters, where it is worth about $50,000. 



60 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

* 
SUMMIT COUNTY. 

The total shipments of ore from Summit County for 1S87 were 20,- 
600 tons, which, with 50,000 tons milled at the mines, make the total 
output 70,600 tons. There is no district in the entire mining section 
which offers greater inducements to capital than this, but tlius far it has 
had to depend upon its output for the means of increasing its output, 
otherwise the amount realized from its rich mines would have been 
many times larger. The mining town of the district is Park City, which 
is connected with Salt Lake City by rail, and contains a sampling mill, 
one 30-stamp and one 50-stamp chloridizingmill, and one concentrating 
and sampling mill and smelter. A tramway runs from the town to the 
mines, five miles away, rising in that distance 2,000 feet. 

The principal districts are Blue Ledge, Uintah, and Snake Creek. 
In Blue Ledge district nothing of any importance has been done pend- 
ing the completion of a drain tunnel which is necessary for the proper 
working of the mines. This work will be the making of Blue Ledge. 

Snake Creek district is as yet a new mining field. But during the 
year over $10,000 worth of ore has been taken out of one mine, the 
ore containing 50 per cent, lead and 180 ounces of silver to the ton. 

Uintah district is probably the richest mineral district in the whole 
Territory. The " Ontario Vein " for 15,000 feet of its course is owned 
by four large companies, including the Ontario, the Daly, and the 
Anchor. I'he latter company is now driving a drain tunnel, seven feet 
high in the clear, to drain 20x24 inches, at a cost of $150,000. There 
is good reason to suppose that this vein extends through to the Cot- 
tonwood Mines, and in the opposite direction to Blue Ledge district, 
making a total of six or seven miles in length. 

The Ontario plant of mine and mill cost $2,570,000 ; 400 hands 
are employed at average wages of $100 per month ; the total output 
of the mine from its inception is over $23,000,000 at the coining value, 
and the actual dividends paid amount to $8,825,000. 37,000 tons of 
ore were extracted during the past year, realizing upward of $1,860,- 
000, and paying $900,000 in dividends. 

The Daly Mining Company from 1885 to 18S7 extracted $2,100,- 
000 in metal and paid $375,000 iii dividends. Both these mines find 
it to their advantage to sell to the smelters their lead ores — about 22 
per cent, of the whole — thereby increasing their reducing capacity, and 
perhaps getting a little more for their ore than they could otherwise 
obtain. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 51 

The other companies working this vein report much smaller opera- 
tions than the above, but all are equally encouraging in their present 
results and future prospects. 

SALT LAKE COUNTY. 

The mines of Salt Lake County are at Bingham Canon and on 
the Cottonvvoods, both connected with the Jordan smelters and with 
Salt Lake City by rail and tramway. The total output of ore for 18S7 
was 30,384 tons. About 29,000 tons of ore were shipped from Bing- 
ham during the past year. The great ore-channel of the district strikes 
north-easterly from the summit of the Oquirrh Range about three 
miles to the valley. The ores are galena, carbonates, and sulphates, 
requiring concentration to bring them to a shipping grade, ten ounces 
silver and 50 per cent. lead. The Brooklyn and Yosemite Mines are 
reported to have produced $2,500,000. West of these two mines their 
veins unite, and from this vein 60,000 to 70,000 tons of oxidized ore 
have been extracted, which sold for $1,500,000. Further west the zone 
is 600 feet wide, and on the surface there was a vast body of oxidized 
ores. Still further west, the Jordan Mine has taken out 100,000 tons, 
worth $2,000,000, of surface ores, and there is close at hand 1,000,000 
tons of $20 quartz in which gold and silver are so combined that no 
way has yet been found to work it profitably. On the exhaustion 
of their oxidized ores the Jordan and other mines were compelled to 
suspend operations, but under improved methods work has been 
resumed, and the output is yearly increasing. All these mines have 
concentrating mills, whereby the galena and iron pyrites are obtained 
as separate products cheaply and without great loss. The latter is 
useful as a iiuxing material. 

There are many productive and valuable mines in the district 
besides those mentioned, not on or even near the principal ore chan- 
nel. They seem, in general, to be greatly improving, both in product 
and promise. Most of them are worked by lessees depending upon 
the output for development and even for plant. Could this district — 
and this is equally true of all our mining districts — command means to 
open the mines systematically, as the Comstock Mines did for twenty 
years, Utah mining would enter upon a new era and our output would 
be doubled twice over. 

TOOELE COUNTY. 

The total shipments of ore from this county in the year 18S7 were 
9,430 tons. The county is crossed by a mineral belt a mile in width, 
composed mainly of galena and carbonates, free from base metals, and 



52 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITV. 

very desirable as a flux fur dryer ores. At the principal mine in the 
district over 4,000 tons have been produced annually for more than 
four years. Only 3 per cent, of this is shipped as mined. 'I'his con- 
tains 64 per cent, lead, 34 ounces silver, and a little gold. The other 
97 per cent, is run through jigs, and yields 26 per cent, of concentrates 
which contain 53 per cent, lead, 23 ounces silver, and $1 gold per ton. 
This mine has 20,000 tons in reserve and the promise of ten times as 
much in new ground now being opened. Dividends paid in 1887 
amounted to $37,000. 

In the Ophir district and at Dry Canon there is a large (juantity 
of ore which makes in pipes and chimneys and can be selected to a 
very high grade. After some years of inactivity, mining is now being 
resumed and promises to attract considerable attention to this section, 
which has a convenient market and undoubted prospects, as also the 
mines along the slopes of the Oquirrh Range from Stockton and Bing- 
ham to Tintic. 

WASHINGTON COUNTV. 

The output of this district for 1887 was 221,728 ounces of fine 
silver, most of which came from one mine that has been worked con- 
tinuously for ten years. This silver possesses the peculiarity of being 
found in sandstone, principally in the form of chloride, the pay-rock 
being undistinguishable from the ordinary material of the reef. From 
10,000 to 12,000 tons of rock are milled annually by one company, and 
the mines show no signs of exhaustion. 

TOTAL ORE PRODUCT FOR 1S87. 
The total output for the year by counties is as follows : 

Beaver County 5>3<J9 tons. 

Juab County 22.900 " 

Summit County 70,663 " 

Salt Lake County 30.384 " 

Tooele County. ... 7,850 

Washington County .. 12,000 " 

Total 149, 166 tons. 

Exclusive of about 10,500 tons of Tintic iron ore. 
As near as can be made out, this ore was reduced as follows : 

Ontario and Daly Mills 50,000 tons. 

Christy Mill 12,000 " 

Northern Spy Mill 900 " 

Salt Lake Smelters 65,000 " 

Total 128,400 tons. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. SH 

The remainder, 20,766 tons, was shipped out of the Territory for 
reduction. There were also shipped 7,805 tons which must be added 
to the product of the counties, making the total ore product 
156,971 tons. 

DIVIDENDS. 

The dividends paid in 1887 by five of the principal mines amounted 
to $1,267,500. The profits on mines worked by individuals or close 
corporations, and of smelters connected with foreign corporations, 
there is no means of ascertaining. The New York Engineering and 
Mining Journal reports $25,000 in dividends paid by the Brooklyn in 
1S87, which must be added to the above, making a total of ^1,292,500. 

COST OF EXTRACTION AND REDUCTION. 

Cost of mining and reduction varies greatly with circumstances. 
It ranges, however, between $13 and $30 per ton, according to location, 
dimension of veins, water facilities, distance from market, grade, and 
nature of ores. 

SAMPLING. 

There are ten sampling mills in the Territory: one in Beaver 
County, one at Alilford, two at Park City, four at Sandy, and two at 
Salt Lake. Together they sampled during the past year about 87,000 
tons of ore. The sampler crushes the ore to the size of peas, thor- 
oughly mixes, sends sealed packages to the assayers, upon whose 
certificate it is bought and sold. 

SMELTING. 
In the Jordan Valley, six to twelve miles to the south of Salt Lake 
City, on the railroads, are the Utah smelters, four or five different 
concerns, comprising about a dozen stacks. Those in blast at present 
are the Germania, three stacks, three revolving roasters, and one large 
reverberatory; the Hanauer, three stacks, with crushing and roasting 
facilities run by water power; the Mingo, four stacks and five reverbera- 
tories; the three plants being valued at $400,000. Together they run 
six or seven stacks pretty steadily, employing about 270 men at an 
average wage of §65 each per month. During the past year they 
smelted 65,500 tons of silver-lead ores and 34,000 tons of fluxing 
materials, consuming 27,000 tons of fuel and running out 13,500 tons 
of lead bullion, worth, in Salt Lake : lead, an average for the year 
of $50 a ton, and silver 94 cents an ounce, $178 per ton — $2,403,000. 
The total transportation in connection with their business, as near as 
may be, 140,000 tons an average distance of 300 miles. 




(54) 



RESOURCES OV UTAH AND SALT LAKE CLIY. 



55 



CONCLUSION. 
Mining in Utah appears to be in a healthy and growing condition. 
The southern mines are not as productive as formerly just at present, 
but the northern districts are more productive. Work is being 
resumed in some districts once practically abandoned. Mines are 
being discovered and opened outside of organized districts, and new 
railroads projected to give our western mines an outlet. More money 
than formerly is being expended in the way of prospecting and devel- 
opment. From the strength of prices of metals an increase in the 
value of our output may reasonably be expected, at the same time 
that its increase in amount is certain. Our mining field offers solid 
inducements to skill and enterprise backed by money. With these 
there can be no doubt that our mineral output might be doubled 
within two or three years. 





(&o) 




MANUPAGHiUr^ES. 



WHAT opportunities are afforded in Salt Lake City for the estab- 
lishment of industrial enterprises may be learned from the fol- 
lowing- portion of a report made to the Chamber of Commerce 
by the Committee on ^Manufactures: — 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON MANUFACTURES. 

On September loth we carefully prepared a circular and blank forms, which we 
addressed to every manufacturer in the Territory, asking information regarding the 
amount of capital invested, persons employed, material and fuel consumed, profit real- 
ized, wages paid, etc., together with many leading questions as to how their interests 
could be best promoted by the Chamber of Commerce. 

From the replies received, we glean much importaiit and instructive data that we 
shall make use of as circumstances direct; keeping strictly in view the confidence in 
which much of the information is given. Also, that to a reasonable degree, and, in 
some cases to an exceptional extent, these ventures have been successful, and some pro- 
prietors frankly admit that more capital could be employed in their lines, and that addi- 
tional plants would pay equally well. 

To the question: " What is your greatest drawback?" the answers have been: "Lack 
of public spirit," "Want of local patronage," " Railroad discrimination in favor of other 
towns," "Excessive freight rates," "Unreasonable prejudice against home-made 
goods," or " High price of fuel." 

To the question: " In what way can the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce aid you?" 
the replies are: " By using its influence in getting freight rates reduced," " Prevent- 
ing discriminations against our industries," " Fostering immigration and the settlement 
of the country," " Setting the example and using its influence to encourage local patron- 
age," " More thoroughly advertise our available resources," and " Invite capital from 
abroad to our aid." 

We find that the resources of the Territory are wonderfully adapted to the promotion 
of many important manufactures, and that skilled labor is more abundant than would 

(57) 




(58) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 59 

naturally be expected in so new a country. At the same time, in some lines, notably in 
harness and saddlery, woolen manufactures, confectionery, cigar-makinfj, woodwork- 
ing, brick-making-, plumbing and brewing, skilled labor is reported as difficult to obtain. 

MORE CAl'lTAL NEEDED. 

In compiling the information now in their possession, your Committee have collected 
some important facts and arrived at some very deli nite conclusions. They consider it 
their duty to lay a synopsis of the same quite clearly before your body, in the hope 
that in the main purpose of their appointment they may succeed and the relief so much 
desired may be found. To the question: " Could a larger capital be successfully em- 
ployed in your business?" the replies have been emphatically: " Yes," " Surely," "Yes, 
possibly," and, " Ten times as much," from confectioners, cracker factories, cigar 
makers, soap makers, woolen mills, knitting factories, silk weavers, breweries, shoe fac- 
tories, basket makers, harness makers and saddlers, trunk makers, broom factories, fur- 
niture factories and upholsterers, iron and brass foundries and machine shops, box 
makers, potteries, etc. In many of these industries, we find what would otherwise be 
thriving, labor-making and money-saving concerns languishing for want of a little capital 
with which to improve their plants, advertise their wares, and place their 
products on a ready market. In other directions, notably in the manufacture of sugar, 
window glass, leather, paper, cement, putty, candles, brushes, paints, white lead, sheet 
lead and lead pipes, agricultural implements, spirits, medicinal preparations, earthen 
sewer pipes, canned goods, pickles and sauces, pails, tubs, kegs, barrels and step lad- 
ders, wagons and carriages, stoves, baskets, demijohns, clothing, hats, etc., and in the 
successful operation of lithographing establishments, cigar factories, publishing houses, 
binderies, rolling mills, reduction works, manufacturing tin shops, wire workers and 
stone and marble sawing and carving, we find that capital can be so successfully em- 
ployed in this city that it is a marvel to us that the opportunities have not been taken 
advantage of. 

We also call attention to the remarkable fact that of all the money employed in 
home manufactures, and which amounts in round figures to about $5,000,000, not a dol- 
lar of it is imported capital. This is an item of much interest, and probably one that no 
other State or Territory in the Union can say. It may be a matter of congratulation, 
but your committee is of the opinion that our interests would be best promoted by the 
use of a hundred times that amount of now idle foreign capital, the profits from which 
should and would give sustenance to five times our population of mechanics and artis- 
ans, retain millions of dollars that are now sent away, and utilize hundreds of resources 
that nature has placed with a lavish hand at our doors. 

FACTORIES ESTABLISHED. 

In addition to those industries which we have noted as suffering from lack of cap- 
ital, it gives us pleasure to announce the successful operation in this city alone of boot 
and shoe, knitting and overall factories, woolen and paper mills, tanneries, confection- 
eries, fence and mattress factories, cracker factories, show-case makers, brick makers, 
aerated water works, roller grist mills, cigar factories, vinegar factories, soap making, 
salt refining, chemical works, glass works, wood working, printing, book binding, brew- 
ing, etc., which give employment to upwards of 1,200 operatives, two and a half mil- 
lions of money, and produce over four million dollars annually in merchantable 



60 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITV. 

products. While the data above given make a gratifying exliibit, they also reveal the 
remarkable fact that Salt Lake City alone employs more labor, operates more capital 
and produces greater results in manufacturing lines than all the Territories of Wyo- 
ming, Montana, Idaho, and Arizona combined; and yet we have hardly disturbed the 
surface of our possibilities in this direction. 

We find that all ventures in this city for the utilization of our surplus capital and 
natural resources have been successful and paid gratifying dividends save where gross care- 
lessness or incompetent management were displayed or where want of necessary capital 
was manifest. 

It is certainly a fact that the manufacturing facilities of the present are, in some 
important lines, totally inadequate to the demand, and when we look at the brilliant 
prospects of the immediate future it is not pleasant to contemplate the large amounts of 
principal and profit which may have to go abroad for lack of investment of capital in 
home manufactures and for the support of a largely increased population. \Ye are well 
satisfied from our investigations that the men who will build up the largest fortunes in 
the future of this city will be those who now engage in manufactures. 

SL'GGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. 

It is well known that cement, such as is used for artificial stone sidewalks, can be 
produced here from native and adjacent material as cheaply and as good as any known 
variety. The city would be much improved and beautified, property would be much 
enhanced in value, and employment given to thousands of its citizens if a Property 
Frontage Ta.\ could be levied for the purpose of establishing grades and covering at 
least a portion of all sidewalks with this material. Also by the establishment of earthen 
sewer-pipe factories, and the enlargement of our foundries for the casting of all iron, 
water, gas and sewer pipes, hydrants, and lamp-posts used in public improvements. 

In addition to the information gathered by the Committee on Man- 
ufactures, it may be suggested that there is no point in the United 
States better suited for the manufacture of plate or window glass than 
Salt Lake City. Silica equal in quality to the finest French product 
is here found in abundance, as is also soda, feldspar, and the other ma- 
terials that enter into the manufacture of glass. Governor Fletcher, of 
St. Louis, who has given the subject a great deal of attention and con- 
sideration, having taken much interest in the establishment of the 
Crystal City Glass Works, has expressed the opinion that glass manu- 
facture could be made a greater success in Salt Lake than anywhere 
else in America, and that the city could be made the great supply 
center for the whole country and become as famous for glass as Shef- 
field, England, for cutlery. 

Besides glass works, there are many other industries that might be 
established on a large scale, such as flour mills, candle factories, 
foundries and rolling mills, canning factories, and artificial stone and 
cement works. Natural wax or ozokerite is a material found in Utah 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 61 

in abundance, and imported from Germany at a lieavy expense. It is a 
perfect substitute for beeswax, and can be manufactured into candles 
superior in quality to the best article of stearine sold in the market. 
This same material can also be converted to other uses, and the pos- 
sibilities in connection with our deposits of gilsonite, a carbonaceous 
substance, asphalt, jyypsum, alum, nitre, kaolin, plumbago, ochres, 
mica, manganese, copperas, sulphate of soda, sulphur, and the various 
China clays, and talcs, have neither been tested nor measured. 

The substances enumerated exist in Utah not merely in name, but 
in reality. There is a greater abundance and variety of curious mmer- 
als and chemical resources in Utah than anywhere in the United 
States. None of the great Commonwealths of the West can make such 
an extraordinary showmg. In the matter of coal, for instance. Major 
Gilson, who has been one of the most indefatigable, intelligent, and m- 
dustrious prospectors of the Territory, makes the broad statement — and 
challenges anyone to disprove its correctness — that there is more coal 
within the borders of Utah than in all the territory intervening be- 
tween it and Pennsylvania, the coal-beds of that great coal-producing 
State not being excepted. And yet, ye railroad builders! citizens of 
Los Angeles and other towns of Southern California have paid $40.00 
per ton for Australian coal during the past winter. 

There is hardly a species of raw material needed for the successful 
manufacture of any article that can not be found within the borders of 
Utah, while food products can be grown here more successfully and 
cheaply than in the garden spots of the East. It is therefore hardly 
necessary to predict that, with a growth of population during the next 
ten years equal to that which the West has enjoyed during the last ten. 
Salt Lake will outrival as a supply center for manufactures any city 
this side of the Missouri River. 




Utah Waterfalls. 



(02) 




THE surface area of Utah is 54,380,800 acres. Exclusive of the 
Salt Lake, which covers 2,500 square miles, the water surface of 
the Territory is 1,779,200 acres. The total number of acres 
surveyed up to June 30, 18S7, was 11,711,118.01, to which several 
hundred thousand have since been added. The whole Territory lies on 
the western slope of the Continental Divide, as the apex of the Rocky 
Mountains is called, and is divided into a succession of valleys running 
from North to South, which for fertility of soil are unequalled in 
America. The principal valleys are Malad, Cache, AVeber, Salt Lake, 
Tooele, Utah, Provo, Rush, and San Pete, Sevier and Rio Virgin to the 
southeast. Notwithstanding the fact that Colorado is fifty per cent, 
larger in area than Utah, the latter possesses much more agricultural 
land. Speaking of the products of the soil. Governor West in his 
annual report of last year says : 

The sino-ularly high quahties of our agricultural products having already forced 
themselves upon the notice of the country, I feel called upon to treat them in such detail 
that they will be more fully understood, hoping thereby to create a fuller appreciation 
of their merits and promote their exportation. In this labor I feel a constant pleasure 
in the comparison which our products bear towards those of other regions. The con- 
viction has forced itself upon me that there is scarcely any agricultural product of the 
temperate zone which will not grow to perfection here. The varied contour of our 
Territory is such that at some places, if not at others, each of all the dififerent varieties 
will thrive which go to support an agricultural community. The soil seems to be rich 
in the phosphates that fertilize vegetation, while the system of irrigation practiced here 
renders the farmer less subject to the caprice of weather than elsewhere. As a result 
the product per acre of some crops is simply astonishing, while qualities rank Just as 
high. It would seem as if the cultivation of a given thing in Utah produces at once a 

(63) 



64 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITV. 

high type suitable and in demand forever after in other districts for seed purposes; as, 
for instance, plant lucerne seed from California on Utah soil, and the product is a 
better seed which California is desirous of procuring for planting herself. With positive 
proof of these facts, it is difficult to repress some degree of enthusiasm in treating on 
these subjects, while they inspire confidence in the future of our exports. 

Utah wheat and barley are known the world over, and the Utah 
potato is equally far-famed. In proof of the merit and quality of Utah's 
vegetable productions it may be stated that the United States Quarter- 
masters, at Leavenworth, Kan., in advertising for supplies, have given 
preference to Utah products even to the extent of paying a premium 
on the same class of vegetables as grown in Colorado. 

Neither are we excelled in fruit or vegetables by California. Our 
fruit is sold in the market of San Francisco for a higher price than their 
native products. The reason is that the Utah fruit has a finer llavor, 
as it does not mature quite so rapidly as the California article. 

In regard to the character and productiveness of the soil, little need 
be said. The writer was given the names of two farmers from Kays- 
ville who raised 106 bushels of wheat to the acre and sold the same to 
the Co-operative Store last fall. Potatoes have been found in our 
market twelve of which have weighed a bushel. A potato weighing 
eight pounds five ounces is now in the possession of the Chamber of 
Commerce. Reputable citizens declare that they have raised 1000 
bushels of tomatoes to the acre, so that the possibilities in the line of 
agriculture, gardening, and fruit raising can hardly be exaggerated. 

STOCK R.VISING, ETC. 

The following from the Report of Governor West will give some 
idea of the stock and cattle and sheep interests of Utah : 

If our climate is too dry for the luxuriant growth of grasses, the conformation of 
our Territory is such that it fully offsets to the stock raiser whatever drawbacks may be 
laid to the want of summer rains. As the feed begins to give out on the lower benches 
in the spring, the snow line is receding on the foothills, and stock is pastured at higher 
altitudes as the season advances, until in the midsummer they graze among the grassy 
valleys of the mountains and on the cool, high plateaus. When winter approaches they 
gradually retire again, and by the time of general snowfall are roaming over low, wide 
ranges where they cannot e.xist in summer for heat and want of water. This changing 
life brings them health and hardihood. They have a "summer out" every year, and 
are thus developed into the sturdiest races of America. The ranges of one season are 
held in reserve at another. During the summer, on the millions of acres of the interior 
basins, too dry for summer ranges, the native bunch grass is maturing and cures stand- 
ing, ready for the immense flocks and herds which will winter there. In these regions 
the snowfall is light enough to furnish water for the stock, but not to bury the dry, 
fattening, bunch grass, famous for its nutritive (]ualities. Such, in round terms, is the 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 65 

manner of raising cattle, horses, and sheep in Utah, and the quintupling of these in- 
terests in the last six years is sufficient proof of its excellence. Taken altogether, there 
are not fewer than 3,000,000 animals herded in Utah, against 504,520 reported by the 
Bureau of Statistics in 1876. Besides this increase in numbers, the intrinsic value per 
head of cattle and horses is almost doubled, while that of sheep has been greatly 
improved. 

CATTLE. 

The cattle interests of Utah are rapidly improving in every respect. Much more 
attention is being paid to breeding up than ever before. No State or other Territory, 
in proportion to its population, is bringing in as much stock for this purpose as we 
are. As a result, our beef steers are very blocky, desirable cattle, and average well in 
any market. There are few herds in the Territory which are not now crossed with 
either Durham or Hereford blood, while for domestic purposes the Holstein are attract- 
ing much attention for milk, butter, and beef. Although an average of all the opinions 
we have obtained is that stockmen cannot go far from the short-horn for best beef re- 
sults, a mingling with other breeds to greater or less degree is unanimously recom- 
mended for special purposes. _ There are several extensive concerns engaged solely in 
the high breeding of cattle for our ranges, and the result must soon be seen all over the 
Territory. It has been pretty well demonstrated that the number of cattle in Utah is 
almost half a million, valued at $11,500,000. While this is comparatively few in num- 
ber the average value per head is high. The low price of beef in the East prevents 
any great exports, which in 1885 amounted to $500,000 from shipments made to 
Wyoming and Chicago, but in 1S86 did not amount to more than half that, the most 
of them going to Nebraska for leeders. More than one prominent stockman says there 
is no place on earth where they eat such good, juicy beef as in Utah. 



If the census reports of 1880 were true, the growth of our sheep interests is the 
most remarkable of all our industries. They claimed to find only 233,121 head in our 
Territory. To-day, averaging the opinions of the best-informed sheep men among us, 
and counting lambs, there are not less than 2,400,000, worth $7,000,000. The same 
figures are arrived at by figuring back from the wool clip of last year. Notwithstand- 
ing these great numbers, Utah is still a buyer of sheep, and the tide is inward, especially 
for heavy shearers, sheep men having all learned that it costs as much to herd flocks 
yielding 3 pounds as those yielding 8 pounds per head. 

LAND. 

There is a vast area of land unsurveyed, and of the surveyed land 
not more than twenty-five per cent is cultivated. The land not yet 
settled upon extends all over the Territory north and south, and much 
of it is equal to that which has been located under the pre-emption or 
homestead laws. In addition to much that could be converted to 
immediate use by reason of the presence of water for irrigating pur- 
poses, there are hundreds of thousands of acres which could be utilized 
by the construction of irrigating ditches or the boring of artesian wells. 




I 60; 



P^AILI=^OADS. 

THE prospects of development from this source are deserving of 
special attention and consideration. There was a time, and not 
very many years ago, when residents and property owners of the 
Eastern States, burdened with large famihes, and hearing of western pro- 
gress, started on prospecting tours through the States of Kansas, Texas, 
Iowa, and Nebraska. To the eastern farmer the distance, at that time, 
seemed a great one, and life on the western prairies was too uninviting 
to woo him away from what were then considered the centres of civiliza- 
tion and refinement. In the East there were schools and churches ; in 
the West there were few of these evidences of civilization. The mother 
who bravely ventured, for the sake of her little ones, to seek a home 
on the prairie, was too often compelled to convert her dug-out into 
a temple and a school-room, and to officiate therein as a minister and 
teacher. But such brave hearts are deserving of rich blessings, and 
the Almighty has showered prosperity upon them in proportion to 
their deserts. Where, ten years ago, the buffalo and the coyote ran 
unmolested, temples and school-houses rear to-day their magnificent 
proportions to the sky, and defy comparison with the proudest struc- 
tures of the kind to be found in New England ; and the parents, who 
have fought a noble fight, are contented and happy. Their sons and 
daughters have grown up around them, and in all that constitutes 
true manhood are the peers of the most rapresentative American. 

While the western pioneer was speculating on the future, there 
were many m the Eastern States who thought land at home for $50 or 
$60 per acre was a better mvestment than government bonds, and pur- 
chased at those figures. Ten years have brought about a change, a 

(67) 



68 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

wonderful change, such only as can be seen in our glorious land. Dis- 
tances have been shortened by the construction of splendidly equipped 
lines of railroad. The West is no longer so far distant from civiliza- 
tion as it was ten or fifteen years ago. If anything, it can boast of a 
nobler and more generous civilization than the narrow and stunted 
growth from which it sprang. Ever}' rank of life in our prosperous 
communities is filled with men and women on whose brows there is no 
mark of shame or degradation, and whose training and education have 
fitted them for association with the most intelligent and refined. 

And while these changes, or rather while this growth, has been going 
on in the West, the land that was considered a better investment than 
Government bonds in the East has been depreciating in value until 
to-day it can be bought for fifty per cent, of its original cost, and those 
who thought the West so far away no longer look on the distance with 
fear. The tables have been turned, and the people of the West are no 
lunger forced to have recourse to extraordinary advertising or special 
invitations to lure their Eastern neighbors to locate amongst them. 
The people of the East heve grown to realize that the " Wild West" is 
not so wild as they were taught to believe ; that the opportunities here 
afforded are too great and too attractive to be longer ignored. The 
record of the West is established, and now thousands are rushing to us 
to share in the advantages and prosperity which are to be found on 
every side, and which are gradually becoming better known to the 
people of the East. 

To the Railroads more than to any other factor in the development 
of the West these changes are due, and it is therefore well to consider, 
in connection with the future of Salt Lake, the prospects it enjoys in 
this direction. 

At the present time Salt Lake City is connected with the East by 
two independent lines of railroad, the Denver & Rio Grande Western, 
traversing a route which for wild, rugged mountain scenery and evi- 
dences of extraordinary engineering skill has no equal in the world. 
The sublime and awe-inspiring views of the Grand Canon of the 
Arkansas, the Royal Gorge, the Black Canon of the Gunnison, and the 
lofty mountain peaks round which winds the Denver iV Rio Grande 
Western Railway, would amply repay a journey of any distance. Every- 
thing that can lend charm and enchantment to a journey is to be found 
on tliis route, and so fully have its merits in this respect been recog- 
nized that it has been aptly denominated "the Scenic Line of the 
Worhl." Tke policy of this road is universally considered as ^riendly 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 69 

to Salt Lake and conducive to the development of Utah Territory ; 
and its management has resulted in a vast increase of patronage and 
an improvement in the industrial life of the Territory, which promises 
to lead to the speedy construction of rival lines. To estimate correctly 
the prospects of Salt Lake City for the construction of new lines of 
railroads it may be well to take a retrospect of a few years. The West 
has grown so rapidly that it is only within the past five or six years that 
the great trunk lines have been stretched from the Missouri River to the 
base of the Rocky Mountains. The Burlington & Missouri Railroad, 
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F6, the Missouri Pacific, and, it might 
be added, the Rock Island & Pacific, have reached Denver within the 
time mentioned. The inducements which led to the construction of 
these lines have not remained unnoticed by the Chicago tS; Alton, the 
Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago & North-Western, and other roads 
which realize their dependency on the western lines in the handling of 
western freight, and their exclusion from a share in the profits of west- 
ern passenger traffic — an item in railroad financiering which is now 
attracting special attention. 

The question now arises, will the Burlington, Missouri Pacific, the 
Atchinson, and the Rock Island suspend operations in their march 
westward, and leave a richer country to the few lines that have already 
reached the Pacific Coast ? The history of the past few years, and 
the conditions of the present, leave no room for doubt concerning the 
future movements of these lines. The Burlington has already sur- 
veyed a line from Cheyenne, Wyo., to Green River, Utah, towards Grand 
Junction, with a view evidently of connecting with the Denver (S: Rio 
Grande Western, which would seem destined to handle all the Utah 
traffic, not only for the Burlington, but for the Rock Island, 
Midland, Atchison, and Missouri Pacific, until such time as the 
increase of business will render the Denver & Rio Grande 
Western road inadequate to the demands made upon it, and ne- 
cessitate the construction of independent lines through Utah. The 
Burlington now owns and is operating west of the Continental Divide, 
under the management of R. C. Hills, an able mineralogist, extensive 
mines of coal and iron, and opening up marble quarries. This road is 
operating the only anthracite coal mine in the West, at Crested Butte, 
and owns extensive deposits on Rock Creek, a tributary of the Grand 
River, over the full extent of which a preliminary survey has been 
made. These properties are all located west of the Continental 




(70) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. Vl 

Divide, which gives rise to more than a mere presumption that they 
will soon be reached by the road that owns and operates them. 

In addition to the Turlington there is the Missouri Pacific, which in- 
cludes Salt Lake in its plans of extension. This line has now reached 
Pueblo, where a company was recently organized under the name of the 
" Pueblo, Gunnison & Pacific Railway." This is supposed to be identical 
with the Missouri Pacific, and is generally so regarded, the community of 
interest being apparent from the friendship and business relations 
existing between the incorporators of the new and the owners of the 
old road. The Pueblo & Gunnison is projected through the San Luis 
Valley to Saguache, thence via Cochetopa Pass to Lake City, Col., 
and north to Salt Lake City. The Cochetopa Pass is but 9,000 feet 
high, the lowest of all the passes in Colorado, and has the recommend- 
ation of never having been blocked to wagon traffic "within the mem- 
ory of the oldest inhabitant." 

Another road which will build to Salt Lake is the Rock Island & 
Pacific. This road has remained deaf to the appeals and invitations 
of Denver and Pueblo, and has selected Colorado Springs, the starting- 
pomt of the Colorado Midland, as its present western terminus. At one 
time it was generally regarded as certain that the Colorado Midland 
was owned and sustained by the Atchison & Topeka; but its present 
condition has dispelled this notion, and the present surmise, which is 
strengthened by the facts, is that the Midland, if not owned, soon will 
be, by the Rock Island. The Colorado Midland is bound to play an 
important part in the railroad plans of the West within a very short 
time. It has made two surveys from its present terminus, Newcastle, 
this side of the range, to Salt Lake City, but it does not seem unlikely 
that the Denver & Rio Grande proper would use one of these surveys 
or parallel it. The developments of a few months may drive the Mid- 
land and its backers to a coalition with the Rio Grande Western by the 
construction of a line from Newcastle to the terminus of the Western 
on the Colorado state line, a distance of about 120 miles. In that event 
it would be safe to bet that the Denver & Rio Grande, which has 
already reached Glenwood Springs, would bridge the distance between 
that point and Salt Lake as quick or quicker than the Midlaixl would 
make connection with the Western. The history of the Rio Grande 
and Midland roads warrants this assumption. 

Then again, there is a probability of a coalition of the Atchison & 
Topeka with one of these lines in an effort to reach Salt Lake. 

The roads mentioned have already built to the eastern base of the 



72 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

Rocky Mountains, and are evidently determined to push westward to 
the Pacific. That they will reach Salt Lake is a matter of course, for 
it is the central industrial point west of the Divide and east of San 
Francisco, and the railroads can find nothing north or south of it to 
divert their attention from the freight and passenger traffic centering 
there. The Chicago & North-Western is built to Fort Fetterman, 
Wyo., and surveyed to Salt Lake City by way of Ogden. There are 
some who predict that this road will be the first of the many mentioned 
to reach Salt Lake. 

But the Chicago & Alton and the Milwaukee cV St. Paul will not 
long remain handicapped in the handling of western freight by the 
Burlington, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific and Atchison roads; and so it 
may reasonably be supposed that these lines will soon reach out for 
their share of western travel and traffic. The Milwaukee & St. Paul 
is already said to be behind a scheme for the construction of a road 
from Leavenworth, Kas., to Salt Lake and Los Angeles by way of 
Denver, the surveys of which are now being made. The Utah Central 
is extending its line southward from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, 
and there is a good prospect of the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railroad 
being begun ere many months. There is one feature which should 
not be lost sight of in this connection. The problem of crossing the 
Continental Divide has already been solved by two roads, the Denver 
& Rio Grande and the Midland, so that the extension of these roads to 
Salt Lake is an absolute certainty. The territory intervening between 
Glenwood Springs, 'Newcastle, and Salt Lake is all mesa or plateau 
land, which offers no difficulties in the way of grading or construction; 
and while the Denver & Rio Grande will no doubt cross into Salt Lake 
from the White River country, the Midland is sure to make connection 
with the Denver & Rio Grande Western, which is now and has always 
been prepared to broad-gauge its track to connect with this and the 
other lines which are building towards Grand Junction. 

The prospects enjoyed by Salt Lake for railroad facilities within 
the next year or two give positive assurance of a bright future, and are 
a guarantee to all of an extensive and rapid development. The won- 
derful resources of Utah, when added to the rivalry existing between 
railroad companies, and their eagerness to extend their operations to 
the Pacific, will make Salt Lake one of the greatest railroad centres m 
the West within the next two years. 




HIAXAHIION. 

THERE is no State or Territory in tlie Union so free from indebt- 
edness as Utali. Tliere is scarcely a county or municipality in 
the Territory that owes any money. Salt Lake City, the metrop- 
olis, owes about $100,000, the balance of a bonded indebtedness of $250,- 
000 contracted some years since for the construction of water canals or 
ditches. Immunity from debt, however, is not the result solely of a too 
conservative policy or the lack of public improvements, as the wants of the 
public are as well supplied as those of other communities of the same 
size throughout the West, and many new improvements have been in- 
augurated and are being carried on, such as sewerage, street paving, 
laying of sidewalks on residence streets, construction of public build- 
ings, storage of water, etc., which justify Salt Lake City in the claim of 
being more progressive than the cities of Omaha, Kansas City, or Den- 
ver when they possessed the same and even a larger population. A 
plan for sewerage has already been approved by the City Council, and 
ordinances have been drafted for the execution of the work, and also 
for the paving of streets and the laying of sidewalks, although the present 
condition of our streets does not make this an undertaking of absolute 
necessity. Our Fire Department is well equipped, and has always been 
found equal to any call made upon it; and yet measures are being con- 
sidered for increasing its efficiency by the construction and equipment 
of other engine-houses. 

The present rate of taxation is twelve mills on the dollar for Terri- 
torial, County, and School purposes — six for the Territory, three for 
the County, and three for Schools — while the municipal tax of Salt 
Lake City is only five mills, making a total of seventeen mills. 

Though this tax is a small one if viewed absolutely, it will appear 

(73) 



74 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY 

Still smaller when the values which serve as a basis of assessment are 
considered. In 1887 the assessed valuation of Salt Lake County 
was $12,457,625. Though the schedules for the present year are not 
yet complete, the assessed valuation may be estimated at $17,000,000. 
But even with this increase the assessed valuation in many instances is 
not more than 10 per cent, of the actual value. Take, for instance, the 
land lying beyond the Jordan River west of the city. The ta.xable valu- 
ation of this land ranges from eight to fifteen dollars per acre, and yet 
none of it can be bought for less than a hundred dollars, while a 
great deal is held at figures ranging from $300 to $800 per acre. The 
same may be said of choice business property, most of which is held 
at $1,000 per front foot, and assessed at from $100 to $150. 

A fair estimate of the actual value of property in Salt Lake County 
would not be less than $50,000,000, or $15,000,000 more than the as- 
sessed valuation of all the property in the Territory. On the score 
of taxation, therefore, there can be no just ground for complaint 
on the part of any citizen or property owner. 





GHUI^GHBS. 

IT will surprise many in the East to learn that all the religious 
denominations are well represented in Salt Lake City. It is not 
an uncommon error to suppose that Mormonism is the only creed 
taught and practiced in Utah, and many strangers who visit the city 
express astonishment at finding churches in which they can worship 
according to their own religious methods. There is no interference 
with religious freedom in Salt Lake. Catholics, Episcopalians, Presby- 
terians, Lutherans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Israelites, Methodists, 
The Latter Day Saints, the Reorganized Church of Latter-Day 
Saints, and many other religious denominations have, each, their 
separate places of worship, cuts of some of which will be found among 
these- pages. Most of the buildings owned by these congregations are 
laro-e and elegant, and the attendance at each of the churches on Sun- 
days affords no ground to strangers or visitors for adverse or unfavor- 
able comment or criticism. In fact, were it not for the expectations of 
strangers arising from previously conceived and prejudiced opinions, 
they could find nothing in the outward religious condition of the city to 
remind the most exacting of their presence in a Mormon community. 
Altogether there are eleven Christian churches and thirteen Sunday 
schools in Salt Lake City, exclusive of Mormon institutions, and eight 
academies and seminaries under the patronage of these churches. 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

In 1864 Bishop D. S. Tuttle, of the Episcopal Church, visited Salt 
Lake and organized a congregation, which is to-day the largest, 
perhaps, and the wealthiest of all the denominations. St. Mark's 
Cathedral is worth, with improvements, about $75,000. It has a 

(75) 




Churches of Sa't Lake. 



(rti> 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. VV 

hospital and school attached, the former havhig been built at a cost of 
about $10,000 and the latter at a cost of nearly $25,000. The average 
annual attendance at the hospital is about 550 patients, cared for at a 
cost of $11,000. St. Mark's School has an attendance of about 500 
pupils, while Rowland Hall, an institution for education in the higher 
branches, has an attendance, including boarders, of 75 pupils. 

The Episcopalians have also another place of worship known as 
St. Paul's Chapel, erected at a cost of $20,000. Rev. F. Putnam is 
rector of the Cathedral, and Rev. C. M. Armstrong pastor of St. Paul's. 

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

In 1866 the first Catholic priest visited Salt Lake from California. 
The visit was repeated the year following, when a site was purchased 
for St. Mary's Cathedral, which was not completed till 1872. Since 
that time the membership has grown so as to require at present the 
services of six priests and a bishop. Rev. Father Scanlan, who had 
charge of the territory since 1873, having been promoted to the 
Episcopacy last year. Catholic churches are also to be found in 
Ogden, Park City, Eureka, Frisco, and Silver Reef, and the schools 
connected with the churches in Salt Lake, Ogden, and Park City are 
among the best equipped and best conducted institutions of the kind 
in the'' West. The Ogden School, which is under the charge of the 
Sisters of the Holy Cross, has a patronage extending mto California, 
Nevada, Wyoming^ Montana, and Idaho, while the Park City School has 
an enrolled attendance of 175 pupils. In Salt Lake City St. Mary's 
Academy, erected in 1875, has an attendance of 135 boarders and 150 

day pupils. 

Bishop Scanlan resides in All Hallows' College, which has an enroll- 
ment of sixty boarders and seventy-five day pupils, who are cared for 
by a corps of competent teachers under the supervision of the bishop. 

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

There are two organized Congregational churches in Salt Lrke, 
and four Sundav Schools, with a total enrollment of about 600 child- 
ren. Rev. [. B. Thrall is pastor of the First Congregational, which is 
free from debt and self-supporting. Salt Lake Academy belongs to 
this denomination, and is an educational institution of high grade and 
fine equipment, which under the principalship of Rev. Professor E. Ben- 
ner, stands in the first rank of similar schools anywhere in the West. 
There are several other organized Congregational churches in Utah, 
besides nearly a dozen preaching stations. 




Churches of Salt Lake. 
(78) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 79 

The New West Education Commission, a society supported and 
maintained by the charitable contributions of CongregationaHsts 
throughout the East, has estabhshed between twenty and thirty schools, 
including four academies of excellent grade, throughout the Territory. 

PRESBYTERIANS. 

The Presbyterians have two organized churches in Salt Lake and a 
high grade school known as the Collegiate Institute, which is under the 
able leadership of Prof. J. F. Millspaugh. This denomination su^)- 
ports about 30 Christian day schools in Utah. 

METHODISTS. 

The Methodists have an able captain in Rev. Dr. Iliff, one of the 
best known and most admired clergymen in Utah. Of this church 
there are two branches, the Scandinavians, under the leadership of 
Rev. P. A. H. Franklin, being engaged in the erection of a substantial 
brick edifice on Second East St. This denomination has also a large 
academy under the management of Prof. Storey, and is engaged in the 
work of construction in other parts of the Territory. 

THE BAPTISTS. 

The Baptists also have a church and school in Salt Lake, and are 
represented elsewliere throughout the Territory; and 

THE SCANDINAVIAN LUTHERANS 

have just completed a $16,000 church with a school basement, on 
Fourth East and Second South streets, and have a membership of 
about 150. 

THE REORGANIZED CHURCH OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. 

This Church began its labors in Utah in 1863. It accepts Mormon- 
ism as taught prior to 1844, being a Christian sect which superadds to 
biblical revelation the revelation claimed to have been made to Joseph 
Smith. The church has branches and members in most of the towns 
of the Territory, and the value of its property in Salt Lake is nearly 
$10,000. 

The foregoing will suffice to convey a sufficient understanding of 
the condition of the Christian denominations in Salt Lake City and 
Utah Territory. It is sought only to impart information concerning 
the actual conditions of life ia Salt Lake, and not to enter into com- 




(80) 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 



81 



parisons nor to give a record or history of the progress that has be€ii 
made and the difficulties that have been overcome. 

HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

There is no city of its size in the West better provided with bene- 
volent and charitable institutions than Salt Lake. The sick are well 
provided for in the maintenance of the Hospitals of the Holy Cross, 
St. Mark's, and the Deseret — all first class institutions where patients 
are cared for by competent and kind nurses, and physicians and sur- 
geons whose record is a guaranty of their skill and intelligence. 





Public School. 



(82) 



All Hallows. 




rp] 



SGHOOLS. 

iHE Public School Buildings of Utah are not equal in appearance 
I to the beautiful structures of a like character to be found every- 
X where throughout the great Commonwealths of the West. This 
is due, in a measure, to the sentiment and policy which have kept the 
counties and municipalities of the Territory free from debt. Under 
the Legislature of Utah no provision has been made thus far for the 
levying of taxes or the incurring of bonded indebtedness for the con- 
struction of elegant and commodious school-houses. Elsewhere the 
burdens of taxation for such purposes are shifted, in part, to the 
shoulders of future generations. The Mormon people who have made 
the laws ot Utah have never deemed it wise or advisable to make 
future generations assume a liability in the creation of which they 
could take no part, and hence have been content to provide solely for 
the wants of the present. Whenever a school has been needed, the 
sum necessary for its construction and equipment has been raised by 
direct and immediate taxation, no authority having yet been given to 
contract any bonded indebtedness for such purpose. As a conse- 
quence, the public school buildings are small. But the necessity for a 
change of policy in this respect has been advocated and is becoming 
generally acknowledged. It is seen that future generations, as well as 
the present, will share in the benefits resulting from the possession of 
commodious schools, and the justice of sharing the liability incurred in 
their construction is no longer regarded as a problem that needs 
solution. The justice of the maxim that those who enjoy the benefits 
should share in the expense incurred in securing them is being 

(63 ) 



84 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LARK l. 1 IV. 

generally acknowledged, and future legislation will no doubt accord 
with this maxim. 

A great many persons labor under the erroneous impression that 
there are no public schools in Salt Lake. The system is no different 
from what prevails elsewhere throughout the United States, except as 
regards the methods of raismg the necessary funds for the erection and 
equipment of buildings and the compensation of teachers. The 
amount of taxes levied is inadequate to provide for construction and 
compensation, and the deficit is raised by voluntary contributions on 
the part of pupils — a system which, by reason of its operation on the 
children of the poor, may be considered as too much out of line with 
the common school .system of the country. It is useless to say that our 
system has no defects; for while no pupil is excluded from school by 
reason of his inability to pay the small amount of the contribution, it 
is universally regarded as a misfortune for any child to be forced to 
reveal his poverty by making application for free admission. The con- 
tril)utions of pupils are very small — not exceeding, perhaps, a dollar and 
a half or two dollars per quarter; but trifling as is the sum it deprives 
the schools of the character they possess elsewhere of being free and 
public. 

It can be said, however, that public sentiment is undergoing a great 
change upon this subject, and the favorable tendency of this sentiment 
can be observed more particularly in the system of education itself. 
The schools of Utah are non-sectarian in theory, being popular institu- 
tions established and maintained by popular vote and taxation of the 
people. In the past, it is true, the schools were organized by a people 
who exercised almost exclusive control over all the public institutions 
of the Territory, and who may have found it unnecessary to consider 
the wants or wishes of the few who differed with them on matters of 
religion and education. As the population grows more diversified the 
rights of the increasing minority are being recognized and acknow- 
ledged, and for that reason religious instruction is now forbidden in the 
public schools. The federal government exercises an indirect surveil- 
lance in such matters, the territorial superintendent of education being 
appointed by the governor, and the right of citizens to have religion 
excluded from the schools has been tested and maintained by the 
courts, investigation into the character of the teachings having been 
made for that purpose, and having satisfactorily proven that there was 
no interference with the religious faith of any class of pupils. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 85 

DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 

The denominational schools are the source of special pride and 
gratification to Salt Lake City, being second to none of their kind 
in the West. The growth and prosperity of these institutions are at- 
tributable, in a measure, to the imperfect system by which the public 
schools were regulated in the Territory. The religious denominations 
have grown and prospered in Salt Lake to an extraordinary extent with- 
in the\ist f^ve years, and, as the public schools had been creations of the 
Mormon majority, parents of other denominations naturally entertained 
feelings of distrust concerning their character, which led to the estab- 
lishment of denominational schools by each of the churches. As a con- 
sequence the Catholics, the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, 
Baptists, and Congregationalists have built schools and colleges which 
in appearance as well as in the success of their methods, will compare 
favorably with the best institutions of the kind in the East. In the 
Catholic College known as All Hallows the pupils are given a full col- 
legiate or university course, while in some of the other schools pupils 
are prepared for matriculation in the universities of the East, to which 
some young lady graduates of Salt Lake schools have already been 
admitted. All Hallows, St. Mary's Academy, Hammond Hall, a Con- 
gregational institution, Rowland Hall, Episcopalian, St. Mark's, also 
Epi'^scopalian, and the Collegiate Institute, Presbyterian, are all fine 
structures, splendidly equipped and largely attended. Each of these 
establishments is well provided with competent corps of professors and 
teachers, and the accommodations are ample for several hundred stu- 
dents. In addition to the colleges mentioned, the Baptists and Meth- 
odists have fine buildings and a large school attendance; in fact, all the 
religious denominations are justly proud of their success in the educa- 
tional line. 

DESERET UNIVERSITY. 

This is a public institution, non-sectarian in character, and main- 
tained at the expense of the Territory. It is a large, substantial 
stone building situated within a few minutes' walk of the business 
centre of Salt Lake City. Dr. John R. Park, a gentleman of schol- 
arly attainments and broad views, is President of the Faculty, and has 
charcre of the internal economy of the establishment, while the gen- 
eral management IS in the hands of a Chancellor and Board of Re- 
gents elected bv the Territorial Legislature. The names of the gentle- 
men are a sufficient guaranty of successful and impartial management. 




(86) 



RESOURCES OK UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 



87 



They are — Chancellor: Orson F. Whitney. Regents: John T. Caine, 
W. W. Riter, Elias A. Smith, Fred H. Auerbach, F. W. Jennings, Geo. 
M. Scott, James Sharp, Edward Benner, C. C. Richards, A. W. Carl- 
son, W. ]\I. Stewart, and Saml. R. Thurman. Treasurer: Thos. G. 
Webber. 

Appropriations are made from the territorial treasury for the 
preservation and improvement of the buildings, the compensation of 
the faculty, and gratuitous mstruction of students who consent to serve 
as public teachers in the public schools after graduating. An appro-' 
priation has also been made for a department m the interest of deaf- 
mutes, and the generous action of the legislature in its liberal recog- 
nition of the benefits resultmg to the youth of the Territory from the 
maintenance of the institution gives assurance of a liberal future policy 
in connection with the public school system. 




(88) 



Aiprpr^AGriilONS. 

T?IERE is more foliage in Salt Lake City than in any city of its 
size in the world. Its homes are all embowered in shade and 
fruit trees, which overshadow lawns radiant with the hues of 
many flowers. The city is half forest and half orchard, and is 
acknowledgedly the most picturesque m America. 

There is no uiland city that enjoys so many advantages as Salt Lake 
in the line of summer resorts. The Great Salt Lake from which the 
citv derives its name covers 2,500 square miles, and from its depths rise 
several mountain islands, some of which are used as ranches, and on 
which the finest kind of fruit and vegetables are grown. A steamer and 
several yachts are afloat on the lake, affording tourists and visitors an 
opportunity to reach the islands and the distant shores. Directly 
to the west of the city are two resorts known as Lake Park and 
Garfield Beach, where citizens and strangers enjoy the luxury of a salt 
bath during the summer season. The water of the lake carries over 
fourteen per cent, of pure salt, and is so dense that the human body 
will float upon its surface without eft'ort. The beach of the lake is soft, 
white sand, and the water is clear as crystal, so that the seashore can 
not possibly possess more attractions for the bather. These resorts are 
within half-an-hour's ride of the city, and ample and elegant accommo- 
dations have been provided for visitors. During the summer trains run 
to the lake every hour during the day and occasionally as late as mid- 
night, and the view presented is little dift'erent from that of the bathing 
resorts on the Atlantic Coast. 

Within the city limits are situated numerous sulphur springs vary- 
ing in temperature, some being so hot that cold water must be added 
before the bather enters. These springs are provided with bath-houses, 
and their medicinal properties recommend their use for various ailments. 

(89) 



90 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

In addition to tlie Oreat Salt Lake and the Sulphur vSi>rings, there 
is a large number of other attractions. At Provo, a beautiful little 
town situated under the shadows of the Wasatch Range, is a body of 
fresh water covering about 200 square miles, known as Utah Lake, 
while in the mountains are glens and lakelets and gorges and canons 
which are sources of infinite pleasure and delight to the Eastern 
stranger. 

Pleasure parties may be organized in Salt Lake for any point in the 
mountains, and so fine are the roads that the sightseer may ride in a 
carriage to the top of a mountain from which a full view can be 
obtained of the great Salt Lake and Utah Lake simultaneously, and at 
the same time of Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, with the cities and settle- 
ments nestling in mantles of foliage. 

A mountain summer resort will be opened this season, to be known 
as Young's Peak Lodge. It is situated in a delightful glade in Pig 
Cottonwood Canon, at the head of the "Stairs ", about three miles from 
the mouth of the Canon, and si.xteen miles from Salt Lake City. The 
route leads through the beautiful farms and lanes south of the city, over 
good roads, while the canon trip is through some of the grandest 
scenery in America, traversing the base of majestic peaks by the side 
of a mountain torrent and in the midst of fine timber and lovely wild 
flowers. Nothing ever before offered to the public equals this in the 
variety and grandeur of its attractions. Within a radius of five miles 
are many beautiful scenes. The waterfall of Covert's Gorge, the 
Stairs, Young's Peak, Kesler's Peak, Lakes Blanche, Florence, and 
Lilian, the Three Sisters, the Pillars of the Wasatch, and many other 
wonders that have not yet been named, with perhaps many more yet 
to be discovered in this new ground, are all within the reach of the 
pedestrian, while the splendid stream of the main canon that flows 
past the Lodge is one of the best trout brooks in Utah. Big Cotton- 
wood is a noble canon ; some of its cliffs and walls are simply terrific, 
and its river comes down with a magnificent rush. It has cloud-touch- 
ing peaks, lakes overshadowed by precipices splintered above and cave- 
hollowed below. It has huge rocky towers and pine-shaded glens ; 
but to devotees of the piscatorial art, better than all is the chance of 
gamey trout in the rock-pools of the stream. The altitude of Young's 
Lodge is about 6000 feet, while the peaks that rise abruptly from the 
vale in which it is situated are nearly 12,000 feet in height. 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 91 

SCENIC ATTRACTIONS OF SALT LAKE CITY. 

RV H. L. A. CULMER. 

The following from TuUidge's "Western Galaxy" will be of interest 
to the artist and lover of Nature's wilds : 

The time has arrived when Utah must proclaim to the whole world 
her manifold attractions, and make plain to the people of every coun- 
try that she possesses within her borders scenes of magnificence 
worthy to be looked upon by travelers from every clime. Thousands 
of citizens of our own Nation, as well as of Europe, make plans during 
the winter months as to which watering place or in what mountan-i 
region they shall spend the hot summer. Most of the large cities of 
the East are not fitted for residence in July and August on account of 
the heat that lasts throughout the night as well as the day, and people 
of means habitually going away during these months are sometimes 
at a loss to decide to what more endurable region they shall go. The 
testmiony of our cool and sparkling chmate has been so frequently 
borne by visitors of recent years that it is now well known, and the 
charms of our lake bathing resort have also been widely published ; 
but there has not been one-half said of the glory of our mountain 
scenery, with its snow-clad peaks and pine forests, the rushing streams 
filled with trout, and the wide stretches of upland, the mountain vales 
with their deer, and the lakes and grassy nooks that gem the Wasatch 
all along the range. It is not too much to say that these mountains, 
which overlook Salt Lake City from the east, are not surpassed in 
scenic qualities by any range in America. In some respects they have 
no parallel. The vale through which the Jordan runs stretches broad 
and grassy to the base of the mountain wall where these gigantic cliffs, 
uprising nearly 8,000 feet, rocky and splintered, bear great gleaming 
basins of eternal snow, and nurse the ever-changing cloud-flakes the 
whole summer through. 

When California publishes abroad her scenic wonders, she does not 
call special attention to the fact that the famed Yosemite Valley is 
over a hundred miles from San Francisco to the east, and the so-called 
Geysers are nearly as far to the north. And when Denver sends her 
pictures of the Mountain of the Holy Cross far and wide, she does not 
dilate upon its being a hundred and fifty miles away in the heart of the 
Rocky Mountains ;— even the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak 
being eighty miles from the capital of Colorado. These are facts 
which the v'isitor does not learn until he has come so far west that he 



92 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

makes the further trip to reach tliem rather than return bootless. It 
is far different here. Scenic features of surpassing beauty are at our 
very doors. The Valley alone, with its snowy ranges on either side, 
is worth a long journey to see ; while the Great Salt Lake stretches its 
broad breast across the region to the northwest in full view from the 
city. One may witness the sunrise in any of the neighboring canons 
by an hour's walk — may see the glory of the early morn, when the sun 
vaults over the hills and the vapors of night are clearing away — when 
the passes of the range as well as the Valley itself are bathed in soft 
opalescent mists shortly to dissipate for the crystalline clearness of the 
day. Even the Alps, the Andes, the Rocky Mountains themselves, 
and other famous ranges, though greater in altitude, fail in comparison 
with the Wasatch in one respect. The peaks of other chains can only 
be viewed from a great distance, for the reason that low parallel ranges 
shut off the view as their bases are approached ; but here in our A'alley 
nothing intervenes between the verdant fields of the plain and the 
snow-capped mountains whose feet rest among farms and villages. 
And in among these settlements are to be discovered the quaintest of 
homes, embowered in trees and overgrown with flowers, while the 
lanes that thread among the wheat fields and the glowing patches of 
lucerne are the haunts of song birds and redolent with the fragrance of 
wild roses and sweet clover. 

Along the banks of the Jordan, once so barren and drear, are now 
to be found many pastoral scenes of interest. There has been much 
change here in the past few years. Signs of thrift and proofs of the 
richness of the soil are to be seen in the blooming fields, the over- 
hanging foliage, and the sleek fat kine that browse in the well -watered 
meadows. The efforts of the husbandman have prevailed against the 
desert from the beginning, and the willing earth has clothed itself with 
beauty while the tillers of the soil have been nursing it to fruitfulness. 
By the roadside and along the river banks wild flowers and tall grasses 
have sprung up among the willows, and the broad-leaved cottonwoods 
planted a quarter of a century ago by the Pettits have grown to be 
a noble avenue of stately trees whose sweeping boughs dip even into 
the waters of the Jordan and cast cool broad shadows across the river 
path. 

Charms of this sort, however, are to be found the world over, 
wherever the hand of man has been lifted to redeem the earth, and we 
should not advert to them in this place but for the impression which 
many have abrcnul that Utah is essentially sterile. The mountains of 



RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITV. 93 

this Territory were never barren. Nature has ever clothed them with 
her own rich garments of forest and meadow. 

We have said that the wonders of our marvelous salt sea have been 
heralded afar ; but the Cireat Salt Lake is a theme of never-ceasing 
interest which can be dwelt upon in a thousand moods without risk of 
tiring the reader. Island mountains spring from its blue depths whose 
lonely shores are rarely traversed by human footsteps and whose 
heights have never perhaps been expUjred. What wild and romantic 
scenes, fraught with mystery of isolation and seclusion, may lie hidden 
amid their lofty summits no one can say. They lie silent, solitary, and 
desolate in the wilderness of forbidding waters. There is a place on 
the western shore of Church Island where a sharp and rocky ridge 
stretches down to the sea, where the strong north-west winds of centu- 
ries have hollowed out the rocks along the shore, carving them into 
fantastic shapes which point their fingers skyward or arch gracefully 
over the green waves that lap against them. 

But it is in the canons, after all, that Utah scenery is the most 
attractive. There are half a score of mountain passes in sight of Salt 
Lake City whose recesses contain features amongst which one in search 
of the beautiful might wander the whole summer through, while 
throughout the Territory are many tremendous scenic wonders. Moun- 
tain peaks whose riven tops are crowned with snow that never melts 
— we have them with their heads loftier than the highest in Colorado ; 
canons through which great rivers roll onward to the sea, and whose 
sides rise up so high as to shut out the glare of day — indeed, we have 
the greatest under the sun. The Great Gorge of the Yellowstone is 
beautiful, brilliant, astounding ; the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas is 
wild, stupendous ; the Valley of the Yosemite is imposing, beautiful ; 
they are each of them worthy to rank among the wonders of the earth; 
but they all three grow weak before the awful Gorge of the World — the 
Grand Caiion of the Colorado in south-eastern Utah. Many a writer 
has dilated upon the magnificence of American Fork Canon, with its 
wild and fantastic rock forms and rushing streams; while the "Old 
Mill," buried amidst overhanging boughs of cottonwoods at the foot 
of Lone Peak, has caught the eye of every artist for many years. 

These Wasatch canons are all delightful places for fishermen, 
hunters and campers-out, whose tents are seen in many a grassy nook 
and along the shady banks of the various streams. There is a regular 
mountain resort at Silver Lake near the head of Big Cottonwood 
Canon ; but it is a matter of wonder that so little attention has been 



04 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALr LAKE CITY. 

ixiid ill the past to tlie litting out of camping parlies aiul the estabhsh- 
ing of tent hotels in our mountains. Big Cottonwood Canon, so near 
at hand, is especially inviting for such enterprises, and we believe par- 
ties are now preparing to carry on a summer hotel at Lake Blanche 
near the " Pillars of the Wasatch." This splendid region is about 
three miles up the South Fork of Mill "B," and is not more than 
si.xteen miles from the Main Street of Salt Lake City. Li reach- 
mg it, every step of the way, from the entrance of Big Cottonwood 
until one stands awestruck at the base of these gigantic, rocky 
pillars, is full of beauty and grandeur. The powers of the artist 
fail before such a spectacle as this. 

Li the Yellowstone National Park it has been the custom for 
years to establish tent hotels consisting of one or mcjre large tents 
for dining room and general rendezvous and a number of smaller 
tents fitted with beds for private apartments. They are very popular 
and are thronged throughout the summer months with tourists 
from all parts of the world. " 'T is a gypsy's life they lead," but the 
gypsy life has been refined upon so that it has all the attractiveness of 
camping out with none of its drudgery. As we have hinted, such an 
arrangement will be made the coming summer in the vicinity of the 
" Pillars of the Wasatch," on the shores of a series of glacier lakes 
known as the Three Sisters, and which have been separately named 
Lakes Blanche, Florence, and Lillian. With such an establishment, the 
attractions of our beautiful Wasatch will become more widely known, 
and not only afford increased pleasure to our citizens, but prove an 
objective point to many tourists from the East. Big Cottonwood Canon 
can be reached from the city in two hours' drive. 

A further series of lakes lies near the head of the main cafion, 
including Silver Lake, Lakes Pha^be, Martha, and others now well 
known to many. They have been visited by hundreds of travelers, and 
such artists as Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt have paid tribute 
to their loveliness on more than one canvas. Lake Mary has been 
known as the gem of our mountains. 

Over the Divide, near the head of Little Cottonwood, is still another: 
Lake Minnie, different from all the others. It is on the trail leading 
into American Fork Canon, and is not less than 9,500 feet above the 
level of the sea. In its neighborhood are some of the most famous 
mines of Utah, and a person standing on its shores may hear the boom 
of distant blasts echoing from the gigantic cliffs that overlook the lake 
and mark the upper end of the canon. 



.fe.p^ 




DBNYBf^ AND SALT LAI^B. 



COLORADO has been justly regarded as the greatest common- 
wealth of the West— greatest because of its possession of all that 
contributes to the health and happiness so yearned after by 
mortals. Its climate and mineral springs have drawn thousands from 
distant homes in search of health, and its wealth of mineral has had irre- 
sistible attractions for the capitalist and fortune-hunter. The fortunes 
extracted from its mines have been invested in industrial enterprises 
which afford employment to labor, and Nature's generosity has begotten 
in the hearts of the inhabitants impulses so generous that whole com- 
munities seem devoid of all personal selfishness in their devotion to the 
general welfare. Colorado has prospered beyond the most sanguine ex- 
pectations since the discovery of Leadville. Prior to that event few 
citizens of Denver dreamt that their city would ever become the beau- 
tiful metropolis and progressive center of to-day. And as Denver has 
grown and prospered, the State itself has advanced in the same direc- 
tion and multiplied its wealth of population many times. 

Yet with all its claims; with all the laurels of success won by the 
State and its metropolis in the last ten years ; notwithstanding the uni- 
versal interest which they have aroused throughout the East; Utah 
Territory and Salt Lake City are not afraid to submit to the world a 
comparison of their resources and attractions with those of Colorado 
and Denver. Nature has done more for the former than for the latter, 
but money and enterprise have made Denver what Salt Lake has yet 
to become. 

To emphasize the claims of the latter to superior natural excellence, 
the following editorial from the facile and graceful pen of Judge C. C. 
Goodwin is reproduced : 

''Harper s Magazine for May has an illustrated article on ' The City 
of Denver.' While reading the article and looking at the stately pub- 
lic edifices, the resident of Salt Lake naturally thinks of the progress 
of the wonderful little city over the mountains, and unconsciously min- 
gles thoughts of it with thoughts of our own place. But there is no envy 



(95) 



96 RESOURCES OF UTAH AND SALT LAKE CITY. 

in the thought, and no jealousy in contemplating our neighbor forging 
ahead, and from a little village,poor and homely,in a single decade of years 
becoming a signal-station among the cities of the Union. There is no 
jealousy, because between Denver and Salt Lake there can never be 
any clashing. Nature has upreared a mighty protective tariff of moun- 
tains between the two places, and each is absolutely independent of the 
other, or at least will be when railroad connections for both shall have 
been fully made. The light of Denver is brightest now. She faces the 
East and catches the first rays of the dawn. In the same way she has 
caught and absorbed the tide of westward-tending people ; her people 
have done their very utmost to make their place attractive to their 
guests and to influence business concentrations which should hold 
Denver as the center, the receiving and distributing point. Denver 
has grown phenomenally while Salt Lake has slowly expanded. But if 
the dawn is emblematic of Denver, we have a symbol here which is 
quite as striking and quite as freighted with omens of good. There 
are no such evenings and sunsets elsewhere as here. We are on the 
mountains' western slope; the day does not come to us so quickly as to 
Denver, but it lingers longer, and when at last it fades away it passes 
out of sight in chariots of sapphire and gold. The sight of Denver was 
forbidding at first. The site of Salt Lake City was glorious from the 
first. Nature gathered here all her splendors of mountain, valley, 
river, and lake, and hung above all a sky and air that were enchant- 
ment in themselves, and then left it for man to complete the miracle. 
It will be completed one of these days. There will be a superb State 
House here ; there will be splendid structures on every hand: temples 
to learning, to law, to justice, to commerce, and all the embellishment 
which come when an earnest people set themselves to work to finish 
a picture which Nature began with immortal dyes to paint. It may 
be this year, or next, or a year later, before the full unfoldment 
may begin ; but it is coming. We may judge of the future by the past. 
We need to go back but six years, and think what was then, and then 
think of what is to-day, to know that the center has been turned — that 
tyranny and superstition have retired to the background, and that 
progress, and the energy which comes when hope is born and chains are 
breaking from the souls of men, are moving in our midst. 



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